Sponsored Video: VIRGIN MEDIA SHORTS 2012

It's the return of the UK's biggest short film competition from Virgin Media, which is offering £30,000 of film funding and mentoring from the British Film Institute to this year's winner. 13 finalists will compete at the Southbank Centre in London this November, with a panel of judges (including actress Juliet Walters and film critic James King) selecting the winner. All of the finalists will receive a fantastic consolation prize, too, as the 12 shorts will then be shown in nationwide cinema for a whole year.

The finalists viewable on the embedded video (above) are: "Super Fast Samosa", a Bollywood-style animation based on the classic gingerbread man story; the animated "A Brush with a Bee" about an old painter battling a pesky insect; an unexpected encounter on a tube train in "Dream Girl"; the story of a man suffering from arrested development in "Little Larry"; "Mourning Rules", about a professional funeral-goer; and "Man Up", where three male friends discuss how to be the boss in a relationship. The rest of the finalists can be found at the Virgin Media Short website.

But while the outcome of the contest is out of our hands, the competition does have a People's Choice category. The winner of this public vote will receive £5,000 for film funding. All you have to do is watch the embedded video and vote for your favourite via the Virgin Media Short website, their Facebook page, using the Virgin Media iPhone/iPad apps, or by simply tweeting the film's title along with the #VMShortsVote hash- tag.

This post has been sponsored by Virgin Media Short, but all thoughts are my own.