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A London director has been crowned the first-ever winner of a new national film competition with a movie that aims to challenge the stereotypes of ethnic minorities and the LGBTQ+ community.
Jamaican-British rising star Monique Needham scooped the top prize for the first-ever M&M’S #FilmsYouWantToSee campaign and bagged £25,000 to bring her concept to life.
Sunday Dinner follows the story of Maya, a Jamaican-British woman who enlists the help of her grandmother to keep the rest of her family in line when she brings her girlfriend home to meet them.
Monique Needham wins first-ever M&M’s #FilsmYouWantToSee campaign
M&M’S created the #FilmsYouWantToSee campaign to champion a sense of belonging for all in the arts and entertainment space. The campaign tasked the participants to create a film concept based on public tweets.
Monique’s Sunday Dinner was inspired by a tweet that called for an openly LGBTQ+ person playing the high school jock proud of their sexuality.
The M&M’S #FilmsYouWantToSee 2023 final took place on March 30 at M&M’S London. The event saw four finalists showcase their trailers before Monique won the top prize. The remaining three finalists also received the runner-up prize of £7,500 to make trailers for their film concepts.
Monique Needham is a writer and director. She has long felt passionate about broadening the type of stories told about her community. Monique has also already created two short films since 2019, which have been shown and commended at global film festivals.
Opening up after her win, she said: “It was important to me that people could see themselves, their norm. Their day to day in a relatable way that, I think, hasn’t been done before. Very grateful for M&Ms for giving me the opportunity to tell my story my way.”
M&M’s #FilmsYouWantToSee national film competition took place on March 30
M&M’s #FilmsYouWantToSee was born after research conducted in September 2022. The research found that 43% of Gen-Z Brits feel they can’t relate to characters on the big screen. It also showed that more than half (57%) felt that stereotypes are offensive and overused in film.
The remaining three finalists included Ethan Ross, a Bournemouth University student. His concept Pink Glove was a heart-thumping thriller that followed an all LGBTQIA+ spy agency looking for justice after an assassination attempt of a colleague.
Guy Chackarov and Omri Dagan also impressed judges with their cop-based comedy Supervised. The film challenged white privilege and police profiling of minorities.
Natasha Mwansa’s Do it for Jordan told the story of Maria. After a heart transplant, Maria finds herself having feelings for a mystery woman. But she then turns out to be the ex-lover of her new heart’s previous owner.
Monique’s film challenges LGBTQIA+ and ethnic minority stereotypes
Kerry Cavanaugh, Business Unit Director at Mars said: “We are absolutely thrilled for Monique. It has been a pleasure to see her concept Sunday Dinner develop from a 90-second trailer to a brilliant short film.”
Very grateful for M&Ms for giving me the opportunity to tell my story my way.
Kerry then continued: “Monique’s film is fun, and witty, and gently breaks down LGBTQIA+ and ethnic minority stereotypes. We hope Monique’s short film will spark important discussions around belonging and representation in film.”
She also added: “The M&M’S FUNd initiative was created to help grow a world where we all feel like we belong. And all of our directors have captured this mission in their work. We can’t wait to see what’s next for Monique. As well as all the other directors who have shared their experience and expertise with us over the last few months.”
Read more: The greatest LGBTQ+ characters in British soap
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