Angeli began her film career working at the First Film Foundation, where she ran a development fund for first feature films. She subsequently worked as a producer and executive producer on many shorts and dramas, then in 1998 ran the first Orange FilmFour initiative in conjunction with Pathé. After three years in this role she took on responsibility for the running of the Orange FilmFour Prize For Short Film.

How many entries have you received for this year's prize?

The exact total of entries is 1676.

Have you been impressed by the quality of the entries?

It's been exciting to see the range of entries, both in terms of subject matter of the scripts and the experience of the entrants. I was impressed by the professionalism of most entries. Very few felt like they had been "thrown together" and a great deal of effort had gone into correct formatting of the scripts and the provision of supporting material of quality.

Did anyone do anything unusual to attract your attention to their entry?

Someone submitted an Hawaiian shirt with their entry. We didn't try it on because we didn't know where it had been!

Have most of the entries been from professional writers and directors?

No, not at all. We have spotted a number of names of upcoming directors and writers, which was great as we wanted to be accessible to all who are eligible for this prize, but by far the greatest number of entries came from people with limited short film experience, or none at all. Often people have worked in other disciplines eg. documentary, theatre, advertising, but are very keen to get their foot in the door of film.

Has there been a theme or style that has dominated the entries or are they very diverse?

The entry subject matters have been as diverse as there are diverse individuals in this country! Having said that, we have seen some similar themes occurring, albeit treated differently by each writer. A few examples are: death and the afterlife, taxi conversations, 'Lock, Stock...' type gangster tales...

How does the shortlisting process work?

The first shortlist of entries has now been made. This has meant assessing every script received with its supporting material, carried out by a team of our expert readers. Once an initial assessment was done, the projects have been reassessed by us and this first shortlist created. This shortlist will now be assessed by the Head of FilmFour Lab and the Executive Producer of the chosen six films. In January we will let you know who on the shortlist has been chosen for interview. Of those interviewed, some will be selected for the final shortlist. This final shortlist will be presented to the jury at the end of January. The jury will then select the six finalists, whose films will be made. It's an exhaustive procedure that means in depth assessment of the shortlisted films and opportunity for the entrants chosen for interview to support their case. The names of the six finalists should be announced by the beginning of February.

Will you contact the entrants who don't make it to the final stages?

Entrants who do not make the shortlist will be informed, via email or letter, in the first two weeks of January.

What happens once the six finalists have been chosen?

Once the finalists have been chosen we spring into activity! There will be development workshops for the finalists, contracts to sign, casting to do, locations to find and so on. We will inform you of their progress on the site with regular updates, news items and where possible, images of work in progress.

Will you be running the competition again next year?

We will be running the prize again next year. We will also be posting dates for the prize launch, entry criteria, brochure and so on as soon as we have it. But, we'll be giving you plenty of time to get your entries in and we will be providing you with support and advice to get your entry into the best shape possible.

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