We can't tell if people are making fun of this anti-piracy film comp or not

"Riveting" and "anti-piracy campaign" are words you'll never spot in a sentence together.

But now that those awful "You wouldn't steal a car" anti-piracy ads have been reduced to dank memes, film executives are trying to find other ways to get people to feel bad about illegal downloads.

In Australia, Village Roadshow has turned to crowdsourcing with its #edgy Unscene Short Film Competition. It's asking aspiring filmmakers to create a five minute film that should "explore, educate and entertain, while centering around piracy and its effects..."

There's admittedly great prizes for those who want to take it seriously, with the winner scoring A$10,000 (US$7,526) in cash and their anti-piracy short shown before films in the cinema.

Thing is, it's hard to distinguish if people are taking it seriously, or just taking the p*ss.

Gathering from some of the entries, downloading movies illegally results in you being abducted or killed in a brutal lesson about the ills of piracy. Sounds a bit extreme, but OK.

[H/T news.com.au]