It’s official, the most exciting stage of the competition is most definitely underway. Right now John Hurt, Mat Whitecross and Paul Greengrass, along with the rest of our terrific judging panel, are watching the 12 shortlisted films and trying to pin down a favourite - and boy, do they have a tough task ahead of them.

On 10th November at the home of British cinema – BFI Southbank – we’ll reveal the Virgin Media Shorts Grand Prize winner for 2011. But that’s not the only prize up for grabs; one film maker will walk away with the coveted People’s Choice Award, as chosen by you. The 12 final films are available to watch and vote for on our website, and each vote will go towards helping one director achieve their dream. Plus, by voting for your favourite film, you’ll enter a prize draw to win the new iPhone 4S, an iPad 2 or a load of iTunes vouchers. If you haven’t voted, do so now.

As if that wasn’t enough, there’s now a new way to get involved and be our guests at a very special event indeed. Introducing the brand-spanking new Virgin Media Shorts Treasure Hunt!

Each week, we’ll publish three clues here on the website (and through Twitter and Facebook so make sure you're keeping an eye on those) that will lead you to one of the 12 shortlisted films. When you’ve worked out which film we’re talking about, make a note of it (or if you really can't wait, email us after you work out each clue). At the end of the four weeks of treasure hunt trepidation, drop us an email with all 12 shorts in the correct order, based on the clues we’ve given you. The clues will stay up on the website for the next four weeks, so don’t worry if you miss one - you can always go back and fill in the blanks.

Every entrant that gets all 12 films in the correct order will go into a prize draw to win two tickets to our exclusive Virgin Media Shorts Awards night at BFI Southbank on Thursday 10th November. The Shorts Awards is a hot ticket in the UK film industry calendar, with judge John Hurt due to present the Grand Prize and, of course, all our shortlisted film makers in attendance. It’ll be a night to remember, and these are the only tickets we’ll be giving away. Please note you must be a registered member of virginmediashorts.co.uk, so get signed up now if you're not already. You can read the Terms and Conditions below.

So without further ado, here’s the first clue in our 2011 Shorts Treasure Hunt:

1. Christmas is less than three months away, but this lady won’t be having many silent nights for a while.

Don't forget, make a note of your answer and we'll ask you to send us all 12 films in order in four weeks time. Or, if you're super keen, you can email us your answer to each clue as you work them out. Please make sure you include your username in your email, and which number clue you're answering. Good luck!

Terms and conditions:
• The promoter of the prize draw is Virgin Media Limited ("Virgin Media").
• Entrants must be UK residents and aged 18 or over. Employees, families or agents of Virgin Media and/or any of its group undertakings are not eligible to enter. Proof of ID might be required before the prize is awarded.
• Virgin Media cannot cover the cost of travelling to the BFI or for accommodation, so please ensure you can make your way to London and back on 10th November 2011.
• By entering the prize draw, you hereby confirm that all information submitted by you is true, current and complete.
• Winner will be chosen at random from the list of correct entrants. The date of the draw is 31st October 2011. Winner(s) will be notified by email within 5 days of the draw and you must respond as directed within 3 days of receipt of the email, otherwise we reserve the right to re-allocate the relevant prize.
• Only registered users of virginmediashorts.co.uk are eligible.
• The decision of Virgin Media as to who has been awarded a prize is final and no correspondence will be entered into. Virgin Media may at its sole discretion, substitute any prize for a prize of a similar nature and/or comparable value. Winner may not request and is not entitled to a cash alternative to the prize and the prize is non-refundable and non-transferable.
• Any personal data relating to entrants will be used solely in accordance with current UK data protection legislation and will not be disclosed to a third party without the individual's prior consent.
• By entering the prize draw, you are deemed to accept these Terms and all other terms and conditions. Virgin Media may, at its sole discretion, change the dates of entry into the prize draw and/or the dates on which the prize draw will be promoted and Virgin Media reserves the right to alter, amend or withdraw these Terms and/or the prize draw without prior notice.

Category: 2011 shortlist

Related articles:

• The Great Virgin Media Shorts Treasure Hunt (Clue 4)
• The Great Virgin Media Shorts Treasure Hunt (Clue 3)
• The Great Virgin Media Shorts Treasure Hunt (Clue 2)
• We reveal the 2011 shortlist
• Rewind; a look back at Shorts 2010