How to bring the 'Virtuous Circles' theme to life for Nespresso Talents

Nespresso Talents is a global celebration of creative filmmaking which challenges creators around the world to bring new angles to an old format with stories told through vertical short films. 

Creators are invited to submit 2-3 minute vertical (9:16) films for the opportunity to be flown to Cannes Film Festival, be mentored by industry professionals and receive awards from a pool of €50,000.

This is your opportunity to tell important, creative, funny, unique, emotive or inspiring stories. Storytelling is part of the Nespresso DNA – they understand the power of immersing an audience into a story and believe that there’s no greater medium for storytelling than film. 

Understanding the theme

This year Nespresso is empowering creators to use their passion for film as a force for good, under the theme, ‘Virtuous Circles’.

Nespresso believes in circularity. They strive to create virtuous circles in everything they do in the pursuit of exceptional coffee. Whether that’s reviving damaged coffee growing regions, developing long term relationships with farmers that cross generations, enhancing the resilience of communities and the environment to climate change for decades to come, helping women coffee farmers to flourish and female agronomists pass on their knowledge to others or even re-cycling capsules into bicycles. 

Keeping this circularity in mind, your films should tell stories of how one good deed has changed something for the better, how it became a catalyst for something bigger than the action itself. Virtuous circles can be sparked by anything. From a small gesture that was repaid in kind, to bigger actions that have benefited our world on a larger scale. 

Your video can tell any kind of story, from real life/documentary to fiction or anything in between. You’re welcome to feature friends, family, complete strangers or imaginary characters. The most important thing is that it tells the story of a Virtuous Circle.

What are the judges looking for?

As you craft your film, keep in mind the specific criteria the jury will be using to judge each film, including: 

• Unique use of vertical: How well is the vertical aspect ratio integrated into the idea, script, framing, art direction, editing, sound design etc?
• Innovation: Is the content surprising, creative and building on an innovative approach?
• Exploration of the theme: Is the theme well integrated within the story?
• Production values: How high is the quality of the concept (e.g. idea, script, narrative), production (e.g. camera, art direction, costume etc.) and post-production (e.g. editing, music, sound design etc.)?

How do I take part?

• Join Genero and register for the Nespresso Talents project here
• View all the details on the full brief here  (Make sure you click ‘Register interest’ to get tips, reminders and updates!)
• Get started on your film! Make sure it’s vertical 9:16, and 2-3 minutes long, using the ‘Virtuous Circles’ theme
• Submit your video on Genero by the deadline listed on the brief

Please note, submissions for Nespresso Talents 2020 have now closed and the winners have been announced.  Keep an eye out for more news on Nespresso Talents 2021!