· A London director has been crowned the first ever winner of a national film competition with a movie concept that challenges ethnic minority and LGBTQ+ stereotypes

· Monique Needham received £25,000 in funding to bring her film concept to life

· ‘Sunday Dinner’ follows the story of Maya, a young Jamaican-British woman, who enlists the help of her grandmother to keep her quirky family in line when her girlfriend comes to dinner

· The M&M’S #FilmsYouWantToSee campaign was created to champion a sense of belonging for all in the arts and entertainment space

· The M&M’S FUNd initiative offers resources, mentorship, opportunities and financial support in the arts and entertainment space to connect people and increase a sense of belonging for 10 million people around the world by 2025

Winning director Monique Needham said: “Being able to make this film means the world to me. 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.”

The M&M’S #FilmsYouWantToSee 2023 final took place on 30th March at M&M’S London and saw each of the four finalists showcase their trailers followed by an award ceremony and screening of the overall winning film, ‘Sunday Diner’.

The four finalists for M&M’S #FilmsYouWantToSee 2023 included:

· Sunday Dinner – the story of Maya, a young, athletic, Jamaican-British queer woman, who enlists the help of her grandmother to keep her quirky family in line when her girlfriend comes to dinner. Directed by Monique Needham.

· Pink Glove – a heart-thumping thriller which follows an all LGBTQIA+ spy agency looking for justice after an assassination attempt of a colleague. Directed by Bournemouth University film student, Ethan Ross.

· Supervised – a cop-based comedy, which challenges white privilege and police profiling of minorities in a world where cops bust white people for minor offences. Directed by Guy Chackarov and Omri Dagan.

· Do it for Jordan – After a recent heart-transplant procedure, Maria begins having feelings for a mystery woman, who turns out to be the ex-lover of her new heart’s previous owner. Directed by Natasha Mwansa.

Launched in 2022, the M&M’S #FilmsYouWantToSee campaign aims to offer resources, mentorship, opportunities and financial support in the arts and entertainment space to connect people and ensure they have access to experiences to increase a sense of belonging for 10 million people around the world by 2025.

The trailers were created following research conducted by the M&M’S brand in September 2022, which found that 43% of Gen-Z Brits feel that they can’t relate to characters on the big screen, and that more than half (57%) feel that stereotypes are offensive and overused in film.

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. Monique’s film is fun, 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. 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 and all the other directors who have shared their experience and expertise with us over the last few months.”

M&M’S have further supported the campaign by partnering with Amazon Prime who will be exclusively streaming ‘Sunday Dinner’