MEET THE FINALISTS
GET TO KNOW THE EXCITING FILMMAKERS VYING FOR SHORT-FILM FUNDING — AND GET READY TO CAST YOUR VOTE
ROLL UP, ROLL UP! The M&M’S Short Film Festival is here, ready to unveil some of the most impressive filmmakers of tomorrow. Not only is the festival bringing together vibrant voices from across the nation and shining a light on the next generation of talent — but it’s also a competition, in which the lucky winner will receive £25,000 to bring their short-film idea to fruition.
From the array of applicants, it all comes down to Christine Ubochi, Tom Oxenham, and Sara Harrak — the three daring directors who came up with compelling cinematic concepts around the theme of ‘belonging’, which sits at the core of this year’s festival ( just like the peanut sits at the core of a delicious Peanut M&M’S). For now, they’ve cooked up teaser trailers for their short-film pitches — with each hoping to bag the top prize and go into production on the real deal.
Before you head online to watch their trailers and vote for your favourite (which will also put you in the running to win some M&M’S of your own), get to know the finalists as we quiz them on their influences, their approach to the notion of ‘belonging’ — and, most importantly of all, their favourite type of M&M’S.
CHRISTINE UBOCHI
FAVOURITE DIRECTORS: Ava Duvernay, Greta Gerwig, Spike Lee, the Coen brothers
Crispy FAVOURITE M&M’S:
Funke, Fatima And Madame Bunmi THE SHORT:
Two best friends, Funke and Fatima, THE SYNOPSIS: enlist the help of traditional witch doctor Madame Bunmi to achieve their dream bodies before their 18th birthday party, which is just a day away.
“Freaky Friday, 110 per cent. THE INSPIRATION:
The Hot Chick — I saw it when I was ten or 11, my two older sisters introduced me to it. And You Are So Not Invited To My Bat Mitzvah. I loved how the relationship between the girls seemed so sincere and genuine. Booksmart, too — just how funny it is.”
“There can be a difficulty in feeling THE THEME: like you belong in the body that you were born with. I wanted to do that body-swap to see from a different person’s perspective. The characters are part of different communities — I see Funke being a British-west African teenager, an only child, and Fatima is a British-asian teenager from a big family. Despite their differences, they have a beautiful friendship.”
TOM OXENHAM
FAVOURITE DIRECTORS: Ruben Östlund, Julia Davis, Yorgos Lanthimos, Edgar Wright
Peanut FAVOURITE M&M’S:
Anders The Dogman THE SHORT:
A lonely CEO thinks he can’t buy THE SYNOPSIS: happiness — but he can buy a high-tech dog suit, through which he finds the human connection he craves.
“What became the biggest THE INSPIRATION: one, out of the blue, was American Psycho.
The longer I was writing it, I thought, ‘This is turning into Patrick Bateman.’ Ex Machina is hard to avoid — I love that film. And Dogtooth has influenced a lot of my work, accepting the surreal and playing it completely straight.”
“It’s about someone who, to us, is THE THEME: going to the most unbelievable lengths to seek human connection. Maybe for him, it feels completely logical. You can imagine these characters are surrounded by people constantly, but that might not mean they feel actual connections. We’re at this peak of erratic tech billionaires and their vanity projects.”
SARA HARRAK
FAVOURITE DIRECTORS: Desiree Akhavan, Nida Manzoor, Ramy Youssef, Emma Seligman
Peanut FAVOURITE M&M’S:
Solers United THE SHORT:
A grass-roots football team THE SYNOPSIS: are fighting to save their club, when the arrival of a new player creates triangles on and off the pitch, sending their plans into a spiral.
“Obviously Bend It Like THE INSPIRATION: Beckham, which is a brilliant film. I’ve mentioned Bottoms and We Are Lady Parts to the actors and heads of departments as references — it’s essentially about these misfits working together, and it somehow works. Derry Girls is a great example as well, these weird people put together. I really love that.”
“I want to show that feeling of THE THEME: belonging within a second family, essentially. It’s a family, and it’s not your normal family. Seeing these misfits, really highlighting these different characters, and showing there’s always a place for someone — that’s where the belonging comes from.”