The Manchester based short About A Girl, directed by Brian Percival and produced by Silver Films' Janey de Nordwall, has scooped four awards inside a month after making a name for itself at the Edinburgh Film Fest back in August.

Since then the film has won two awards at the Kino Film Festival in Manchester, Best Short at Raindance a fortnight back and now the profile Turner Classic Movie Classic Shorts top prize - a large cheque and a beautifully crafted trophy.

Despite its recent success, Janey still appeared overwhelmed and did not phone the absent Percival prior to the announcement (like she did at Raindance) because she couldn't believe the film could win yet another award - perhaps she was more overwhelmed by the kiss on the cheek from McGregor?

The film stars 14-year-old newcomer Ashley Thewlis in a performance that Ewan McGregor described as "Very hard hitting and brilliant. Brilliant, brilliant". Anthony Minghella called it "a very accomplished performance" and "very effective", while Stephen Woolley was impressed by its "witty, charming script and truly shocking punchline".

In second place was the shocking and true Falklands story The Last Post from Brighton based brothers Dominic and Lee Santana. Producer Lee told Netribution that the prize was "completely unexpected given the quality of the line up." The brothers will gladly spend their UKP3000 prize money all at once - they begin production on their latest short on Sunday.

Last Post is an expensive short (some scenes were shot on location in Buenos Aires because the difference in price compared to Spain was negligible) but it has exceptionally high production values that especially impressed producer Stephen Woolley, who handed the brothers their award.

Third prize went to Skin Deep, Yousaf Ali Khan's harrowing and topical story of a young mixed race man who can pass as white in his run down, all white neighbourhood until he is forced to confront the conflict of his identity. The final scene of the film was so captivating and emotional that it had the audience pressed to the backs of their seats.

TCM and the London Film Fest persuaded a strong list of industry players to judge the competition, now in its second year, who were each sent a video of 30 shorts to vote on a percentage basis. The eleven judges were: Ridley Scott, Ewan McGregor, Mark Herman, Ismail Merchant, Anthony Minghella, Guardian Film Editor Andrew Pulver, TCM general manager Tina McCann, LFF short film programmer Satwant Gill and journalist/TV film critic/ director/ producer and host of the event, Richard Jobson.

The competition received 237 entries and it is certainly worth mentioning that the final six were of the finest quality everyone in attendance had seen. Those that missed out on the prizes were: Hero another Falklands focused film that was really very moving, It's Not You, It's Me, a charming Brighton based comedy and a great little full-circle comedy called Watchmen.

The winners can be contacted by telephone:
About a Girl: Janey de Nordwall - 020 7379 6600
The Last Post - Dominic and Lee Santana - 001273 603463
Skin Deep: Yousaf Ali Khan/Andy Porter - 0207 284 1695