Created by Empire for M&M’S Chocolate.
The votes are in, the cameras have stopped rolling, and bags of M&M’S have been eaten. Yes, that’s a wrap on this year’s M&M’S® Short Film Festival, bringing together diverse, up-and-coming filmmaking voices from across the UK and empowering them to create new work – and a winner has officially been crowned. London-based filmmaker Christine Ubochi charmed audiences with the trailer she submitted for her body-swapping concept Funke, Fatima And Madame Bunmi, in which two friends learn to love themselves by seeing things from a different perspective – and in the wake of winning the contest, Ubochi received funding and mentorship to turn her two-minute trailer in a fully-fledged 20-minute short film.
Ahead of the premiere of Funke, Fatima And Madame Bunmi at M&M’S London store, Empire caught up with Ubochi – talking her experience in the Short Film Festival, finding out she’d won, and making the short film.
EMPIRE: How was it shooting the trailer for the competition?
CHRISTINE UBOCHI: It actually went quite smoothly. We had no time to really think about what we were doing – it was very much just churning the work out, and just pouring all of ourselves into it. We spent a whole day as a team and finished around 12am.
How did it feel to see your initial idea start to come to life?
It was really surreal. It was exciting to be supported by M&M’S for an idea that's literally about two best friends swapping bodies – something so whimsical. To have people around that really believed in not only me, but the idea... It was really inspirational and encouraging for me to carry on.
Did shooting the trailer make you excited about the prospect of making the full film?
That came from when we were rehearsing, before we even started shooting the trailer. Working with the three main cast, hearing about the insight into the characters and the backstory that they've created – it just got me so excited, because of how much passion they poured into it. It was fun to hear their ideas, and how much it tied with what I originally thought about the characters. When we got on set, it was like, 'Yeah, I definitely do want to make this.' But that feeling came way before even shooting it.
How did you find out that you'd won?
We were told that we would find out on a Friday, and I didn't think I'd win. I was like, 'Let's just rip the band-aid off – tell me that I've lost.' So I emailed them. And then I got an email back from the agency: 'We've got some good news. Are you around for a call?' I was very shocked. I did not think I would win! It was very chill – just a very normal day until that happened.
How did you celebrate?
Me and my family went to my sister's house. We all just chilled, had food, danced. It was a very intimate setting, and a lot of happiness around the room.
You've now made the full short film – what was the experience of creating that?
We had six weeks to write it, film it, edit it and submit it – six weeks to literally create a whole film from scratch! It definitely stretched me. But luckily, I'd been advised by my mentor to prepare, just in case I did win. I was just ready to go, and was able to accept the challenge, and do the best that I could with the time that we had. It brought all of the team closer together because we were all working towards a tight deadline. I'm so glad that it was a fast turnaround, because now we've got something that we can share with the world – a 20-minute short.
How much did the idea for the short evolve over the course of the competition? Did new scenes come up as you were making the trailer?
Absolutely. A lot of it came in during the rehearsal period – this whole new world like opened up for me. I would just get inspiration from everywhere. "Oh, Funke's like this, Fatima's like this. The reason why they want to do this body swap is because they have people at their school that are like, X, Y, Z." Making it into a short film was just merging all those ideas and condensing it into a 20 minute script.
Is there a particular moment in the finished film that you're particularly proud of? Especially in how it tackles the theme of belonging?
I really love the bedroom scene when they're about to switch their bodies back. They have a moment where they're counting down before they open their eyes, and they look at themselves, and when they do the first thing they say is, 'Wow. They're beautiful.' And I think for me, that just sums up the essence of the film. As humans, we're not able to see ourselves from anybody else's eyes. Taking that notion and putting it in a situation where, yes, now they can see themselves from a different perspective, it's when they realise that there's actually nothing wrong with them. This whole thing could have been resolved if they were just able to see themselves from a different lens. It's like they're seeing themselves for the first time.
What has the M&M’S Short Film Festival experience taught you overall?
Just to play. Before, as a filmmaker, I put so much pressure on myself. "I need to do this, I need to do that, my films need to be like X, Y, Z." But because of the limited time that we had, and the brief to submit something witty and fun, it really just encourages us to play, and have fun, and be free with the ideas that we have. It mimics a lot of the things that I was being told in my life around that period – to have fun and play with where I'm at.
Is there a filmmaker who you would particularly love to watch your film?
Ava DuVernay. She's the one that inspired me to make films. Her film A Wrinkle In Time is a whimsical fantasy – so maybe she would like this. I would love for her to watch it.
What's your next project after this? Have you got ideas in mind for something new?
Absolutely. I always have ideas floating around, I've got scripts as well. But my next concrete project is a play that I wrote and will star in, which is being taken up to Edinburgh Fringe. It's called Galentine's Day. I'm excited to see where that goes.
Watch Christine’s winning film here on the M&M’S Short Film Festival site