Sky-high film festival launched by Virgin

Virgin Atlantic has announced the launch of an onboard film festival for its passengers in conjunction with the National Film and Television School.

The Film Festival in the Sky will see 14 short films selected by the airline for showings on its inflight entertainment system.

Passengers will then be able to vote for their favourite until the end of June. After this point, the six most popular films will continue to be shown for another three months and assessed by a panel of judges including actor Nick Moran and former British Academy chairman Stephen Woolley.

The winner will be awarded with free Virgin Atlantic tickets and the opportunity for their film to be shown to five million further passengers.

"Through this new initiative our passengers will not only get a chance to see the best in new filmmaking but they will also help the celebrity judges give the next Mike Leigh or Shane Meadows their first step up the ladder," commented Lysette Gauna, head of brand for Virgin Atlantic.

Earlier this month, the airline announced the launch of a new route to Nairobi from Heathrow Airport.

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