One Minute Movie and 125 Word Story Competitions

Tying into the University’s anniversary celebrations, this year’s theme is ‘125’. We invite students, alumni and colleagues from any discipline to submit short films or stories based on 125. Our special judging panel is to be announced soon.

You can interpret the theme however you choose and take any approach you like - fact or fiction, literal or abstract, it’s up to you. Tell us a story, in just sixty seconds or 125 words, that responds to or takes inspiration from this theme.

The competition is open to all University of Birmingham students (undergraduate and postgraduate) and to staff and alumni. The winners will be announced at a special event to be held in June 2025 and prizes will be awarded across both strands.

Winning entries will receive £125 and runners-up £75.

Films and short stories can interpret the theme of ‘125’ in any way, but to celebrate the university’s anniversary this year there will also be a special additional prize of £125 for the film and short story that connects to the 125^th anniversary story of the university itself!

• View the winning film and read the winning stories from 2024 (theme: fluidity)
• View the winning film from 2023, ‘La Tête Parlante’, and other entries from 2022-23 (theme: transition)
• View the winning film from 2019, ‘Synchronicity’, and other entries from the 2018-19 competition(theme: how green is your heart?)
• View the winning film from 2018, ‘The Third Law’, and other entries from the 2017-18 competition(theme: stop/start)
• View the winning film from 2017, ‘What does water mean to you?’ and other entries from the 2016-17 competition(theme: land and water)
• View the winning film from 2016, ‘One Day’ and other entries from the 2015-16 competition(theme: memory and forgetting)

The rules

Your film or piece of writing must work with the theme of ‘125’.

You must have copyright control of any audio or visual material that goes into your film and cannot replicate existing published works in your story. This means either filming it yourself or using audio-visual material to which you have copyright permission.

There are many sources of copyright free images, videos, music and other audio material available online that can be used under appropriate Creative Commons licenses, or because they are already in the public domain.

Your film must not exceed one minute (60 seconds) in length – this includes any credits! Likewise, stories must not exceed 125 words. You are welcome to be creative with the written format of your story.

Deadline for submissions

13:00 UK time on Friday 2 May 2025.

Submission format

Films can be submitted via a service such as WeTransfer to ftv@contacts.bham.ac.uk. Alternatively, films can be submitted as a digital file on USB/hard drive to the Film and Creative Writing departmental office (G08, 31 Pritchatts Road) to Jemma Penny or to Ella Wright in ERI 364.

Stories should be submitted as a Word document attachment, emailed to ftv@contacts.bham.ac.uk

Please give your film/story a title and include this alongside your ID number (if a student) in the file name.

If you are entering in the staff or alumni category, please specify this when sending in your film/story.

By entering the competition, you consent to your film or story being shown/read aloud at the event in June and published online or in other campus platforms afterwards.

Questions

If you have any questions about format, content, copyright, or anything else related to the competition, then please email ftv@contacts.bham.ac.uk

Please note, if a winner is based in a territory where we cannot credit a monetary prize, appropriate vouchers will be awarded instead.