Following a flurry (it says here) of entries from budding filmmakers in the West Country, Virgin Media announced this week that Kevin Spacey will be joining the judging panel for Virgin Media Shorts.

‘Ques’que c’est Virgin Media Shorts?’, we hear you ask. Why, it’s the first ever short film competition to run across four screens - TV, cinema, mobile and computer, of course.

Run in association with FilmFlex, the competition will offer maximum exposure for the shortlisted flicks, with local hopefuls in with a chance of winning up to £30,000 and working with Virgin Media and the UK Film Council to make their next short.

The winning entry will also be shown later this year on Virgin 1 - currently available to 22 million homes in the UK.

Joining Lester Burnham on the judging panel will be Oscar-nominated short film director Daniel Barber; Virgin head honcho Richard ‘Richard’ Branson and the head of the UK Film Council’s New Cinema Fund Lenny Crooks.

More big-name British film-types will apparently be added to the panel over the coming weeks.

Each of the shortlisted films will be shown at cinemas across the UK, appearing before the main attraction at 211 independent screens up and down the country; will be available on Virgin Media TV and to download onto Virgin phones via the Mobile Bites site; and available for anyone to view and review on www.virginmediashorts.co.uk

The competition is open to filmmakers of all ages and backgrounds. All films must be a maximum of two and a half minutes long and suitable for a general cinema audience (no potty language or willies, then).

The deadline for entries is June 30. Check out www.virginmediashorts.co.uk for more details.

In September, the final winner will be announced and Spacey will present them with their wife’s head in a box (not strictly true).

Posted by Thin White Duke

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