The M&M'S Short Film Festival Application Form

Guidelines

Ready to apply? Take a look at our short (and sweet) instructions.

Submit a fun, witty, and joyous concept (max 500 words) for a film trailer that is inspired by the themes of belonging, community, and acceptance on shortoftheweek.com for your chance to participate in a 72-hour film hackathon competition.

The M&M’S Short Film Festival hackathon is a 72-hour filmmaking competition challenging aspiring filmmakers to create film trailers inspired by the themes of belonging, community, and acceptance. To be in with a chance to participate in the hackathon, you simply need to submit your application via our partner’s Short of the Week website (shortverse.com/festivals/mmshortfilmfestival) by 26th November 2023. 15-minute screening calls will take place before the final three filmmakers are selected.

Three selected filmmakers will be contacted in w/c 11th December notifying them of being selected to compete in the hackathon stage of the competition. The hackathon will run for 72 consecutive hours between 2nd and 5th February 2024, and the shortlisted participants must be available to compete during that period.

To help participants compete in the challenge, M&M’S will provide each of the three selected filmmakers access to expert-leading film mentors who will support you during pre-production, and post-production of your trailer. In addition, M&M’S will give you a total of £3,000 to help cover any hackathon-related expenses. With this funding, we expect filmmakers to source all materials and resources that might be needed to compete in the 72-hour hackathon. This includes but is not limited to crew support, filming equipment hire, and film editing software.

M&M’S will share full competition guidelines three weeks before the hackathon (by 8th January 2024) giving filmmakers the chance to work on the scripts for their trailers. The scripts will have to be shared with the promoter (Short of the Week) for approval by 15th January 2024 and should not exceed two A4 pages long. All three filmmakers will get access to an initial one hour of mentors’ time one week prior to the hackathon competition to go through any pre-production questions, including script revision and production support if needed. The exact date is to be agreed upon between the promoter, mentors, and participant. This initial call should be used to agree further support requirements between the mentor and mentee. Total mentoring hours should not exceed 15 throughout the competition.

The hackathon competition will be held remotely allowing the three selected filmmakers to create their trailer in their area of residence. The three selected filmmakers will then get access to mentors throughout the 72 hours, at times pre-agreed between M&M’S, participants, and mentors. This will give them the opportunity to discuss any issues or questions they may have as they create their trailer and get the guidance they need to complete their short trailer by the deadline.

All complete trailers must be submitted via email to shortfilmfestival@webershandwick.com by 23:59 on 5th February 2024. All three trailers will be screened on the mms.com website on a date to be confirmed, giving the public a chance to vote for their favourite trailer.

The trailer with the most votes will be announced in February 2024 (date to be announced) and that filmmaker will receive a cash prize of £25,000 to be used to create their short film.


Key dates for the diary:

DATE ACTION
26.11.2023 Application form to be submitted by this date
11.12.2023 Successful Participants notified
18.12.2023 Successful Participants must confirm participation in competition
03.01.2024 Further guidelines on the competition will be shared by the promotor
w/c 15.01.2024 Script to be submitted by Participants, for feedback and approval
w/c 22.01.2024 Script approvals provided to Participants
02 – 05.02.2024 Hackathon competition element starts alongside mentoring
05.02.2024 Final short film trailers are submitted
Feb – Final date to be confirmed Trailers featured on mms.com and open to public voting
End Feb / early March Voting closes and winner announced

The detail:

WHAT YOU WILL RECEIVE
Production cost support £3,000
Mentorship w/c 8th January 2024 Initial kick off call (either video call or phone conversation) between mentor and mentee. Alignment on ways of working. Initial call to be up to 1 hour in length. Amount of support needed throughout the Hackathon to be agreed between the mentor and mentee during this initial call, up to a maximum of 15 hours for the total competition.
MENTORSHIP w/c 15th & 22nd January 2024 Mentors available to provide guidance on script development. This could include brainstorming, tips on script development and length
MENTORSHIP w/c 29th January 2024 Ad-hoc support and guidance in lead up to competition as needed
MENTORSHIP 2nd – 5th February 2024 On hand support during 72-hour competition. In-person support to be confirmed pending individual preference

Before you get creative, check out our additional guidance and examples.

The dos:

  • Embrace the jester wit and fun, colourful nature of the M&M’S brand
  • Showcase your talent and story in a visual and uplifting tone
  • Showcase a wide range of diversified talent throughout the process and competition; characters, groups, communities, production, editing, etc.
  • We’d love only original concepts for this competition, so please create a totally new concept, rather than submitting previous work you have created
  • If mentioning or showing confectionery or food consumption, be mindful of portion control and avoid promoting overconsumption. Please don’t promote or show any other snacking or confectionery brands, other than M&M’S.
  • If showing M&M’S product being consumed, please only use an individual 45g ‘grab bag’ for one (1) person, using the larger sharing bags for two (2) people or more

The don’ts:

  • Use social exclusion or perpetuate negative stereotypes
  • Utilise recognized IP (logos, branding, products, clothing logos, etc.) of non-Mars brands
  • Use images of celebrities that you do not have prior approval to use
  • Show violence, illegal behaviour, alcohol, drugs, gambling, smoking/vaping, or reference any political landscapes, politicians, etc.
  • Promote the unsafe consumption of our products which could result in injury, e.g., throwing the product in the air and catching it in the mouth (choking hazard)
  • do not use any swear words or foul language
  • Show children or under 16 years of age or any pets, alongside or consuming our products.

Disclaimer: If entrants are not sure whether an idea for the script is acceptable, please contact the team and they can support you.

Need some inspiration? Why don’t you watch these short films and trailers.

To be used for inspiration only, please do not share this content or use as part of your own script.

Good luck!

The M&M’S Short Film Festival
PROMOTIONAL TERMS & CONDITIONS

Short T&Cs

The M&M’S Short Film Festival

UK residents aged 18+ only. Chance to be selected to participate in a 72-hour film hackathon competition and win £25,000 to create your very own short film. To enter, read the application guidelines above and submit a fun, witty, and joyous concept proposal (inspired by the themes of belonging, community, and acceptance). No purchase is necessary to enter. The promotion runs from 09.11.2023 – 26.11.2023. One entry per person.

Promoter: Mars Wrigley Confectionary UK Limited, 3D Dundee Road, Slough, Berkshire, SL1 4LG

Full Terms & Conditions

These terms and conditions (the “Terms and Conditions”) govern your entry into and participation in the promotion. Please read these terms carefully before entering as by entering you are deemed to have accepted and agreed to be bound by these Terms and Conditions. In the event of any conflict or inconsistency with any other communications related to the promotion, including advertising or promotional materials, these Terms and Conditions will take precedence. Please retain a copy of these Terms and Conditions for your information.

The Promoter takes data protection seriously. By entering the promotion, you confirm that you have read the Privacy Policy at https://www.mars.com/privacy and agree to any personal data you submit as part of the promotion being held and processed in accordance with this Privacy Policy, the UK General Data Protection Regulations (GDPR) and the Data Protection Act 2018. Personal data submitted to (the Promoter’s agent) by the winner of will be treated in accordance with the Promotor’s privacy policy, which is accessible at Privacy | Mars, Incorporated

  1. The Promoter: Mars Wrigley Confectionary UK Limited, 3D Dundee Road, Slough, Berkshire, SL1 4LG
  2. Eligibility: This competition is open to UK residents, aged 18 years or over at the date of entry, excluding employees of the Promotor and their immediate families, associated agents and anyone professionally connected with the competition
  3. Promotional period: The application window is open between 09.00.00 (GMT) on 09.11.2023 and 23.59.59 (GMT) on 26.11.2023.
  4. Internet access and registration is required.
  5. Strictly one entry per person.
  6. Bulk entries, entrants using multiple addresses, email addresses, numbers or entering via agents, third parties, organised groups, syndicates or aliases or entries automatically generated by computer will not be accepted. Entries must be made directly by the person entering the promotion. Only genuine valid entries will be considered.

HOW TO ENTER FOR YOUR CHANCE TO WIN

For a chance to win:

  1. Participants must submit:
    1. a fun, witty, and joyous concept trailer proposal (inspired by the themes of belonging, community, and acceptance) as a Word document or PDF on shortoftheweek.com for their chance to participate in a 72-hour film hackathon competition; and
    2. a personal statement outlining their motivations, background, and ambitions in the film industry and why they entered the competition. The statement should not exceed 300 words.

Guidelines re submissions:

  1. All concept submissions must be:
      1. original, and the sole property of the applicant;
      2. in English; and
      3. must not exceed 500 word count
  2. Unfortunately concepts cannot be returned, so please retain a copy.
  3. Participants must share their social media handles, which will be reviewed as part of the application process.
  4. Participants have the option to share examples of their work, either via documentation, videos, links to media (e.g., social films, reels), or other relevant materials that demonstrate their existing work e.g.
      1. Accepted file format in accordance with applicable standards (including .JPEG, .JPG, .PNG, .MOV, .MP4, .AVI, etc.)
      2. Online portfolio submissions may be submitted, but please ensure that the files are public and can be viewed by anyone with a link
  5. No substitutions of either corrected pages or new drafts of the entry concept can be made.
  6. Participants must agree to take part in a short, 15-minute interview as part of the application screening process, where Participants will be asked questions related to their motivations for applying, their script concept and to verify the information supplied as part of their application. The call will not be recorded.

The Prizes:

  1. The prize(s) to be won are as follows:
    1. 3 x Participants (‘Finalists’) will each receive:
      1. a bursary for a total of £3,000 GBP to participate in the ‘Hackathon’ stage of the competition; and
      2. access to an expert mentor (name to be announced) for a maximum of 15 hours during the 72 hour ‘hackathon’ stage of the competition.
    2. Once the 72 hour 'Hackathon' stage of the competition is complete, the 3 Finalists’ trailers will be put on http://mms.com/ where the public will vote for their favourite trailer.
    3. Of the three final trailers, the trailer with the most public votes will be selected as the overall campaign winner (“Winner”) , and will receive £25,000 and further mentorship to create and complete their short film.
    4. There are 4 (comprising 3 x finalist prizes and 1 x Winner) in total, as detailed, that are available to be won throughout the entire promotion.

Selection and Notification process:

Finalists

  1. Three Finalists will be selected by an independent panel of judges between 27.11.2023 and 11.12.2023 based on criteria including but not limited to compliance with the application guidelines, imagination and creativity, originality of the story, and relevancy to the overall themes of belonging, community, and acceptance.
    1. The Promoter will make reasonable efforts to contact the Finalist(s) with details of the next steps within 3 days of the Finalists being selected.
    2. If a Finalist has not responded to notifications after 7 working days or if a selected Finalist is ineligible, or otherwise in breach of these Terms and Conditions or unable to or declines to take up the prize for any reason, the Promoter reserves the right to withdraw the prize and to reallocate the prize by selecting a new Finalist from all remaining Participants in accordance with the process described in these Terms and Conditions.

Winner

  1. The Winner of M&M'S Short Film Festival will be selected via a public vote between February and March.
  2. The Promoter will make reasonable efforts to contact the Winner with details of the prize.
  3. If the Winner has not responded to notifications after 7 working days or is ineligible, or otherwise in breach of these Terms and Conditions or unable to or declines to take up the prize for any reason, the Promoter reserves the right to withdraw the prize and to reallocate the prize by selecting a new Winner from the remaining Finalists, namely the Finalist with the second highest number of votes.
  4. The £25,000 must be used to develop and create a short film from the winner’s concept and mentorship will be provided. The promoter reserves the right to withdraw this prize in the event that the finalist chooses not to create a short film out of their concept.

Prize redemption

  1. If you are announced a Finalist via email, you will be asked to agree to the ‘hackathon’ stage of the competition, taking place in February 2024, and provide personal details, including information surrounding supporting the delivery of funds.
  2. If you are announced the overall Winner via email, you will be asked to provide personal details, including information surrounding supporting the delivery of funds.

General

  1. If a submitted concept is chosen by the Promoter and produced as part of the competition, or chosen as the overall competition winner, the ownership of all IP related to their concepts, and for all "derivative works" that are created from the concepts remains with the Participant.
  2. Mars Wrigley will have full, unrestricted, perpetual license to use the scripts or the eventual videos in whatever manner, without need for further approvals from the contestants.
  3. If a submitted concept is chosen by the Promoter and developed into a full script as part of the competition, the Winner must agree to submit their full script for approval to the Promoter. The Promoter reserves the right to request changes and amendments to scripts, to ensure alignment to the provided guidance, alongside, but not limited to, further legal and brand safety requirements.
  4. A list of Finalist(s) and the Winner's surnames and their counties is available on request. Please post your request and a SAE to: [The M&M'S Short Film Festival, Mars Wrigley Confectionary UK Limited, 3D Dundee Road, Slough, Berkshire, SL1 4LG] within 3 months of the promotion close date. Should a winner object to their information being made available, they should contact the Promoter by emailing shortfilmfestival@webershandwick.com. The Promoter may nevertheless disclose information to regulatory authorities if required by law to do so.
  5. In the event a winner requests for their personal data, including phone number and address details to be deleted, the Promoter cannot be held responsible if such request means that it is unable to complete delivery of the winner's prize or assist them following deletion of their phone number. The name, contact details and (if applicable) bank account details of the winner(s) will be retained for 30 days after the prize has been fulfilled to allow the Promoter to deal with any queries from the winner. Surname and/or county details may be retained and made available to members of the public in accordance with condition 'm'.
  6. Winner(s) may be required, if they consent, to take part in reasonable publicity relating to the promotion without further remuneration.
  7. The Promoter is not responsible for any entries which fail to be registered or are delayed for any technical or other reason whatsoever.
  8. The Promoter reserves the right to verify the winning entries including by asking for the winner(s) identity, including proof of age (which they must provide within 7 days but which will not be retained following verification by the Promoter and redemption of the prize) and may refuse to award a prize or withdraw a prize entitlement and/or refuse further participation in the promotion and disqualify a participant where there are reasonable grounds to believe there has been a breach of these Terms and Conditions (including entry requirements) or otherwise where a participant has gained an unfair advantage in participating in the promotion or won using fraudulent means.
  9. The Promoter may in its absolute discretion disqualify any participant found to be tampering with the application process or operation of the website or to be acting in any manner disruptive to the promotion.
  10. Sometimes, through reasons outside of the Promoters control, the website (as with any website) may not be accessible. The Promoter cannot guarantee continuous, uninterrupted access to the website. No responsibility will be accepted for any difficulties in entering, claiming or any entries/claims being delayed or corrupted. The Promoter will have no liability for any loss arising out of such an event. Wifi and or network data coverage will be required to access the application website, at the responsibility of the applicant.
  11. Limitations of liability: insofar as permitted by law, neither the Promoter nor its agents or associated companies assume any responsibility or liability for:
    1. Any faulty, incorrect, errors or failed electronic data transmissions;
    2. Communications line failure, regardless of cause, with regard to any equipment, systems, networks, lines, satellites, servers, computers or providers utilised in any aspect of this promotion;
    3. Inaccessibility or unavailability of the internet or the website or any combination thereof; and
    4. Insofar as permitted by law, any injury or damage to participants or to any other person (or their property) which may be related to or resulting from any attempt to participate in the promotion.
  12. If any clause of these Terms and Conditions is determined to be illegal, invalid or otherwise unenforceable, then it shall be deemed deleted from these Terms and Conditions. The remaining clauses shall be unaffected and remain in full force and effect.
  13. This promotion and these Terms and Conditions (and any disputes/claims arising out of or in connection with them) shall be governed by and construed in accordance with English law and the parties to any dispute or action shall submit to the jurisdiction of the English and Welsh courts. However, if you are resident in Scotland, you may bring your claim before the Scottish or English courts.