For about six years now Virgin Media has been putting their brand behind a collection of filmmakers and their shorts, in an effort to push the world of British filmmaking and the short films that new talent have produced. This year on the Virgin Media Shorts shortlist, sees 13 short films vie for the grand prize of £30,000 in funding for the next film project, plus mentoring and guidance from the BFI.

At an event at the Curzon Soho, Spike Island director Mat Whitecross announced the names of the 13 shortlisted films before an audience of filmmakers got to watch their work on the big screen, 12 of which were voted for by a panel of industry representatives, whilst the 13th was voted for by the public.

The films, online for you to watch for free right now, are:

The Big Day by Karl Falconer
A family prepares for their daughter’s wedding, whilst bumps in the road keep appearing.

Touch by Nimer Rashad
A woman remembers an entire lifetime based around her touching of a man’s hand.

A Favour by James Bradley
A simple request by a neighbour has unexpected results.

Brando-ing by Malcolm Roy Greenhill
Two men discuss the process of Brando-ing with your face.

Spring Clean by Ed Clifton, Ed Daggett and Michael Stranney
A man finds a cleaning agent that makes more than a little stain vanish.

The Man Who Couldn’t Stop Putting Things In Bins by Louis Paxton and Patrick Kondracki
A mock-umentary about a man with the compulsion to throw things away.

Stick Out by Anthony Farquhar-Smith
An ice lolly stick escapes from normality and has an adventure.

RVG by Ian Bucknole
The on-going feud between the green man and the red man at a traffic light.

Handuken by Chris Chung
An epic martial arts fight breaks out, but in a most unexpected manner.

Homey by Ben Garfield
A simple game of bulldog is turned into a much more high-stakes event.

Niche In The Market by Rod Main
A sweet documentary about men who own the smallest shops around.

Just Say Hi by John McPhail
A man and a woman at a bus stop awkwardly try to make contact.

Jetpack Jack by Oliver Lee (Voted for by the public)
A superhero fights his biggest foe yet.

Now these 13 films will be judged by a panel that includes Shane Meadows, David Tennant, Mat Whitecross and film critic James King, among a collection of prize winners and industry representatives.

But your job isn’t over just yet, as there’s an additional prize for one of these films under the Nikon People’s Choice Award Winner, the winner of which would receive £5000 of film funding and mentoring by the BFI. You can lend your voice to this by watching all the films, and tweeting the film title followed by #VMShortsVote and much the same on Facebook.
So go out there, watch a collection of really entertaining, often hilarious and constantly surprising short films and voicing your opinion.