The Iris Prize, established in by Berwyn Rowlands of The Festivals Company, is an international

LGBT ' is an initialism that stands for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender. In use since the 1990s, the initialism, as well as some of its common variants, functions as an umbrella term for sexuality and gender identity. The LGBT term ...

film prize and festival which is open to any film which is by, for, about or of interest to

gay ''Gay'' is a term that primarily refers to a homosexual person or the trait of being homosexual. The term originally meant 'carefree', 'cheerful', or 'bright and showy'. While scant usage referring to male homosexuality dates to the late 1 ...

, lesbian, bisexual,

transgender A transgender (often abbreviated as trans) person is someone whose gender identity or gender expression does not correspond with their sex assigned at birth. Many transgender people experience dysphoria, which they seek to alleviate through ...

intersex Intersex people are individuals born with any of several sex characteristics including chromosome patterns, gonads, or genitals that, according to the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, "do not fit typical bin ...

audiences and which must have been completed within two years of the prize deadline. The prize is open to filmmakers from around the world and judged by a panel of international filmmakers and artists. The winner receives the largest prize for a gay and lesbian film in the world—a package valued at £30,000—allowing the winner to make their next film. It is awarded during an annual festival held in

Cardiff Cardiff (; cy, Caerdydd ) is the capital and largest city of Wales. It forms a principal area, officially known as the City and County of Cardiff ( cy, Dinas a Sir Caerdydd, links=no), and the city is the eleventh-largest in the United Kingd ...

that presents a programme of screenings including the competing films, several feature films, panel sessions with visiting filmmakers and culminates in a closing night award ceremony. The Iris Prize has secured the support of lesbian and gay film festivals from around the world, creating a single international platform with the intention of raising the profile of lesbian and gay cinema and helping a new generation of filmmakers achieve success on the international stage. Each of the partner festivals selects one film annually to participate in the Iris Prize. The partner festivals include LGBTQ+film festivals in

Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the anch ...

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, largest city in the U.S. state, state of California and the List of United States cities by population, sec ...

, New York, Sydney, Dublin,

San Francisco San Francisco (; Spanish for " Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the fourth most populous in California and 17th ...

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania#Municipalities, largest city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the List of United States cities by population, sixth-largest city i ...

, Hong Kong, and Rochester, New York. The journalist

Andrew Pierce Andrew Pierce (born Patrick Connolly) is a British journalist, editor, author, broadcaster and political commentator. Early life Pierce was born in Bristol to a Roman Catholic Irish mother and an unknown father. He spent the first two years o ...

became the first chair of the Iris Prize in 2013. Tom Abell, Managing Director of Peccadillo Pictures succeeded Pierce as chair in 2021. In 2015 Iris Prize Outreach - the charity set up to challenge discrimination against LGBTQ+ people - was awarded funding from the National Lottery Community Fund to undertake an ambitious programme of community engagement across Wales over three years. A second project was awarded funding in 2020 and is expected to see ten new short films made.

Iris Prize Winners

* 2007 - '' Pariah'' by

Dee Rees Diandrea Rees (born February 7, 1977) is an American screenwriter and director. She is known for her feature films '' Pariah'' (2011), '' Bessie'' (2015), '' Mudbound'' (2017), and '' The Last Thing He Wanted'' (2020). Rees has also written and d ...

(USA) * 2008 - ''Cowboy'' by Till Kleinert (Germany) * 2009 - ''Steam'' by Eldar Rapaport (USA) * 2010 - ''The Samaritan'' by Magnus Mork (Norway) * 2011 - ''

I Don't Want to Go Back Alone ''I Don't Want to Go Back Alone'' ( pt, Eu Não Quero Voltar Sozinho) is a 2010 Brazilian short film directed by Daniel Ribeiro. The short won the 2011 Iris Prize. It was later expanded into Ribeiro's 2014 feature film ''The Way He Looks''. Pl ...

'' by

Daniel Ribeiro Daniel Ribeiro was born in São Paulo on May 20, 1982. He is a Brazilian film director known for his works You, Me and Him (Portuguese: Cafe com Leite) made in 2007 and I Don't Want to Go Back Alone, I Don't Want To Go Back Alone (Portuguese: Eu Nã ...

(Brazil) * 2012 - '' The Wilding'' by Grant Scicluna (Australia) * 2013 - ''Gorilla'' by Tim Marshall (Australia) * 2014 - ''All God's Creatures'' by Brendan McDonall (Australia) * 2015 - ''Vessels'' by Arkasha Stevenson (USA) * 2016 - ''Balcony'' by Toby Fell-Holden (UK) * 2017 - ''Mother Knows Best'' by Mikael Bundsen (Sweden) * 2018 - '' Three Centimetres'' by Lara Zeidan (Lebanon/UK) * 2019 - ''Black Hat'' by Sarah Smith (USA) * 2020 - ''Short Calf Muscle'' by Victoria Warmerdam (Netherlands) * 2021 - ''Baba'' by Adam Ali and Sam Arbor (UK) * 2022 - ''Tarneit'' by John Sheedy (Australia)Alastair James
"Tarneit wins £30,000 Iris Prize Award at LGBTQ Film Festival"
'' Attitude'', 16 October 2022.

Best British Short Winners

* 2007 - ''Private Life'' by Abbe Robinson * 2008 - ''

James James is a common English language surname and given name: *James (name), the typically masculine first name James * James (surname), various people with the last name James James or James City may also refer to: People * King James (disambiguati ...

'' by Connor Clements * 2009 - ''Diana'' by Aleem Khan * 2010 - ''Mosa'' by Ana Moreno * 2011 - ''The Red Bike'' by Andrew Steggall * 2012 - ''A Stable for Disabled Horses'' by Fabio Youniss * 2013 - ''My Mother'' by Jay Bedwani * 2014 - ''Middle Man'' by Charlie Francis * 2015 - ''Closets'' by Lloyd Eyre-Morgan * 2016 - ''Balcony'' by Toby Fell-Holden * 2017 - ''We Love Moses'' by Dionne Edwards * 2018 - ''BEYOND (There’s Always a Black Issue, Dear) '' by Claire Lawrie * 2019 - ''My Brother is a Mermaid'' by Alfie Dale * 2020 - ''Better'' by Michael J Ferns * 2021 - ''Baba'' by Adam Ali and Sam Arbor * 2022 - ''Queer Parivaar'' by Shiva Raichandani

Iris Prize Best Feature Award Winners

* 2008 - '' Dream Boy'' by James Bolton (USA) * 2009 - '' Red Woods'' by David Lewis (USA) * 2010 - '' My Friend from Faro'' by Nana Neul (Germany) * 2011 - ''

August August is the eighth month of the year in the Julian and Gregorian calendars, and the fifth of seven months to have a length of 31 days. Its zodiac sign is Leo and was originally named ''Sextilis'' in Latin because it was the 6th month in ...

'' by Eldar Rapaport (USA) * 2012 - ''

Sex of Angels ''Angels of Sex'' ( es, El Sexo de los Ángeles) is a Spanish film by Xavier Villaverde starring Álvaro Cervantes, Àstrid Bergès-Frisbey, and Llorenç González. It was released in 2012 (the UK release title is ''The Sex of Angels''). Plot Br ...

'' by Xavier Vilaverde (Spain) * 2013 - ''

Cupcakes A cupcake (also British English: fairy cake; Hiberno-English: bun) is a small cake designed to serve one person, which may be baked in a small thin paper or aluminum cup. As with larger cakes, frosting and other cake decorations such as frui ...

(Bananot)'' by

Eytan Fox Eytan Fox ( he, איתן פוקס; born on August 21, 1964) is an Israeli film director. Biography Eytan Fox was born in New York City. His family immigrated to Israel when he was two. His father, Seymour Fox, was a Conservative rabbi and a prof ...

(Israel) * 2014 - '' Boy Meets Girl'' by

Eric Schaeffer Eric Schaeffer (born January 22, 1962) is an Americans, American actor, writer, and director. Early life and education Schaeffer was born in New York City, New York (state), New York, and later graduated with a degree in drama and dance from ...

(USA) * 2015 - ''

4th Man Out ''4th Man Out'' is a 2015 American comedy film directed by Andrew Nackman and written by Aaron Dancik. The film stars Evan Todd as Adam, a young man living in Upstate New York who, on his 24th birthday, comes out as gay to his best friends Chris ...

'' by Andrew Nackman (USA) * 2016 - ''

Real Boy Real may refer to: Currencies * Brazilian real (R$) * Central American Republic real * Mexican real * Portuguese real * Spanish real * Spanish colonial real Music Albums * ''Real'' (L'Arc-en-Ciel album) (2000) * ''Real'' (Bright album) (2010) ...

'' by Shaleece Haas (USA) * 2017 - '' Prom King, 2010'' by Christopher Schaap (USA) * 2018 - ''

1985 The year 1985 was designated as the International Youth Year by the United Nations. Events January * January 1 ** The Internet's Domain Name System is created. ** Greenland withdraws from the European Economic Community as a result of a ...

'' by

Yen Tan Yen Tan (born 1975) is a Malaysian-born American independent film producer and director. Early life Tan emigrated from Malaysia at the age of 19 and is based in Dallas, Texas. Career He is known for award-winning films ''Happy Birthday (2002 fi ...

(USA) * 2019 - ''

And Then We Danced ''And Then We Danced'' ( ka, და ჩვენ ვიცეკვეთ, ) is a 2019 Georgian drama film directed by Levan Akin. It was premiered in the Directors' Fortnight section at the 2019 Cannes Film Festival where it received a fifteen- ...

'' by

Levan Akin Levan Akin (born 14 December 1979) is a Swedish film director and screenwriter, best known for his film '' And Then We Danced'', that received critical acclaim and won the 2019 Guldbagge Award for Best Film. Biography Levan Akin was born and ra ...

(Sweden/Georgia) * 2020 - ''Cocoon'' by Leonie Krippendorff (Germany) * 2021 - '' Rebel Dykes'' by Harri Shanahan and Siân A. Williams (UK) * 2022 - ''Metamorphosis'' by Jose Enrique Tiglao (Philippines)

Best Performance in a Male Role

* 2011 -

Murray Bartlett Murray Bartlett (born 20 March 1971) is an Australian actor. His roles include Dominic "Dom" Basaluzzo in the HBO comedy-drama series '' Looking'', Michael "Mouse" Tolliver in the Netflix revival of ''Tales of the City'', and Armond in the HBO ...

, ''

'' * 2012 -

Ohad Knoller Ohad Knoller ( he, אוהד קנולר; born 28 September 1976) is an Israeli actor. He had roles in the Eytan Fox films ''Yossi & Jagger'' and '' The Bubble'', and the Steven Spielberg film ''Munich''. Background Knoller was born in Tel Aviv, I ...

, '' Yossi'' * 2013 - Ryan Steele, '' Five Dances'' * 2014 - Michael Welch, '' Boy Meets Girl'' * 2015 - Davide Capone, '' Darker Than Midnight (Più buio di mezzanotte)'' * 2016 -

Thom Green Thomas Green (born 4 September 1991) is an Australian actor and dancer who is best known for his role as Sammy in the ABC series ''Dance Academy,'' the lead role in ''Camp'' as Kip Wampler, and as Thomas Lasky in the '' Halo 4: Forward Unto D ...

, ''

Downriver Downriver is the unofficial name for a collection of 18 cities and townships in Wayne County, Michigan, south of Detroit, along the western shore of the Detroit River. The place is sometimes referred to as South Detroit. Etymology The name ...

'' * 2017 - Miles Szanto, ''

Teenage Kicks "Teenage Kicks" is the debut single by Northern Irish punk rock band the Undertones. Written in the summer of 1977 by the band's principal songwriter, the song was recorded on 15 June 1978 and initially released that September on independent Be ...

'' * 2018 -

Félix Maritaud Félix Maritaud (born 12 December 1992) is a French actor notable for his roles in French queer cinema. Career Maritaud began to garner recognition after starring in a string of French independent films, most notably ''BPM (Beats per Minute)'' ...

, '' Sauvage'' * 2019 -

Henry Golding Henry Ewan Golding (born 5 February 1987) is a Malaysian-British actor and television host. Golding has been a presenter on BBC's ''The Travel Show'' since 2014. He is known for his film work, playing the role of Nick Young in ''Crazy Rich Asia ...

, ''

Monsoon A monsoon () is traditionally a seasonal reversing wind accompanied by corresponding changes in precipitation but is now used to describe seasonal changes in atmospheric circulation and precipitation associated with annual latitudinal osci ...

'' * 2020 - Leandro Faria Lelo, ''Dry Wind (Vento seco)'' * 2021 -

Udo Kier Udo Kierspe (born 14 October 1944), known professionally as Udo Kier, is a German actor. Known primarily as a character actor, Kier has appeared in more than 220 films in both leading and supporting roles throughout Europe and the Americas. He h ...

, '' Swan Song'' * 2022 - Giancarlo Commare, ''Mascarpone''

Best Performance in a Male Role, British Film

* 2022 - Gary Fannin, ''Jim''

Best Performance in a Female Role

* 2011 – Allison Lane, ''

Going Down in LA-LA Land ''Going Down in LA-LA Land'' is a 2011 American comedy-drama film written and directed by Swedish filmmaker Casper Andreas and based on the novel by Andy Zeffer. It was released in New York City on April 20, 2012, and in Los Angeles on May 18, 2 ...

'' * 2012 – Kristina Valada-Viars, '' Molly's Girl'' * 2013 – Sabine Wolf, '' Two Mothers'' * 2014 – Kate Trotter, '' Tru Love'' * 2015 – Sigrid ten Napel, '' Summer (Zomer)'' * 2016 –

Kerry Fox Kerry Lauren Fox (born 30 July 1966) is a New Zealand actress. She came to prominence playing author Janet Frame in the movie '' An Angel at My Table'' directed by Jane Campion, which gained her a Best Actress Award from the New Zealand Film and ...

, ''

'' * 2017 –

Fawzia Mirza Fawzia Mirza is a Canadian-born film and TV writer and director. She is known for her works such as web series '' Kam Kardashian, Brown Girl Problems'' and the film '' Signature Move'' (2017). Early life Mirza's parents were born in India and ...

, '' Signature Move'' * 2018 –

Jamie Chung Jamie Jilynn Chung (born April 10, 1983) is an American actress and former reality television personality. She began her career in 2004 as a cast member on the MTV reality series '' The Real World: San Diego'' and subsequently through her app ...

, ''

'' * 2019 –

Linda Caridi Linda Caridi (born 11 April 1988) is an Italian television, stage and film actress. Life and career Born in Milan into a family of Sicilian and Calabrian origins, Caridi graduated from the and started her career on stage, in which she was amo ...

, '' Mom + Mom'' * 2020 - Lena Urzendowsy, ''Cocoon'' * 2021 - Senan Kara, ''Not Knowing'' * 2022 - Lacey Oake, '' Before I Change My Mind''

Best Performance in a Feale Role, British Film

* 2022 - Claudia Jolly, ''Tommies''

Best Performance Beyond the Binary

* 2022 - Gold Azeron, ''Metamorphosis''

Youth Jury Award

* 2013 – ''Straight With You'',

Daan Bol Daan may refer to: People *Daan (given name), Dutch short form for Daniel *Saumya Daan (born 1982), Indian voice actor * Serge Daan (1940–2018), Dutch zoologist * DAAN, a Belgian band led by Daan Stuyven * Da'an, a character in the television se ...

(Netherlands) * 2014 – ''Bombshell'', Erin Sanger (USA) * 2015 – ''Closets'', Lloyd Eyre-Morgan (UK) * 2016 – ''Sign'',

Andrew Keenan-Bolger Andrew Keenan-Bolger is an American actor. He is best known for originating the roles of Crutchie in ''Newsies'', and Jesse Tuck in '' Tuck Everlasting'' on Broadway. His other Broadway credits include Robertson Ay in ''Mary Poppins'', Jojo in ' ...

(USA) * 2017 – ''Lily'',

Graham Cantwell Graham Cantwell (born 25 March 1974) is an Irish film and television director. He is best known for directing feature film Anton which achieved a three-week domestic cinema release and was nominated for three Irish Film and Television Awards ...

(Ireland) * 2018 – ''Mrs McCutcheon'', John Sheedy (Australia) * 2019 – ''My Brother is a Mermaid'', Alfie Dale (UK) * 2020 - ''Wings'', Jamie Weston (UK) * 2021 - ''S.A.M.'', Neil Ely and Lloyd Eyre Morgan (UK) * 2022 - ''Breathe'', Harm van der Sanden (Netherlands)

Diva Box Office Award

* 2019 – ''Greta'', Sparkman Clark (USA)

Co-op Audience Award

* 2020 - ''Wings'' by Jamie Weston * 2021 - ''Birthday Boy'' by Leo Lebeau & James Bell

Community Awards

* 2022, Community Short: ''Want/Need'', Niamh Buckland * 2022, Education Short: ''The Bed'', Thalia Kent-Egan * 2022, Micro short: ''Hold Me Close Please'', Max Roberts

List of partner festivals

Each of the partner festivals listed below will select one film that will be automatically shortlisted for the Iris Prize. *

Inside Out Film and Video Festival Inside may refer to: * Insider, a member of any group of people of limited number and generally restricted access Film * ''Inside'' (1996 film), an American television film directed by Arthur Penn and starring Eric Stoltz * ''Inside'' (2002 f ...

, Toronto (CA) *

Outfest Outfest is an LGBTQ-oriented nonprofit that produces two film festivals, operates a movie streaming platform, and runs educational services for filmmakers in Los Angeles. Outfest is one of the key partners, alongside the Frameline Film Festival ...

– Los Angeles Gay and Lesbian Film Festival (US) * Frameline - San Francisco International LGBT Film Festival (US) *Hong Kong Lesbian and Gay Film Festival (CN) *Queer Screen – Sydney’s Mardi Gras Film Festival (AU) *

NewFest NewFest: The New York Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, & Transgender Film Festival put on by The New Festival, Inc., is one of the most comprehensive forums of national and international LGBT film/video in the world. Founded in 1988, The New Festival, Inc ...

- New York Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, & Transgender Film Festival (US) * QFest Philadelphia (US) *ImageOut: The Rochester LGBT Film & Video Festival (US) *

KASHISH Mumbai International Queer Film Festival The KASHISH Mumbai International Queer Film Festival (also known as Mumbai International Queer Film Festival and Mumbai International Queer Film Festival) is an annual LGBT event that has been held in Mumbai, India, since 2010. The film festiva ...

(IN) *Queer Lisboa - International Queer Film Festival (PT) * Mezipatra, Prague (CZ) *Oslo Fusion International Film Festival (NO) *GAZE, Dublin (IE) * Cheries, Cheris - Paris (FR) *Roze Filmdagen, Amsterdam (NL) * MIX Copenhagen (DK) * Festival MIX Brasil, Sao Paulo (BR) *Hamburg International Queer Film Festival (DE) *Shanghai Pride Film Festival, Shanghai (CN) *aGLIFF, Austin (US) *

Melbourne Queer Film Festival The Melbourne Queer Film Festival is an annual LGBT film festival held in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. Held in November, the festival is regarded as the largest queer film event in the Southern Hemisphere. The festival attracts around 23,00 ...

(AU) *Scilia Queer, Palermo (IT) *

TLVFest TLVFest or the Tel Aviv International LGBT Film Festival ( he, הפסטיבל הבינלאומי לקולנוע גאה) is an annual film festival held in Tel Aviv, Israel. The festival is focused on LGBT themed film from around the world. The f ...

, Tel-Aviv (IL) * British Urban Film Festival, London (GB)

References

External links

Official homepageIris Prize at Theatre Wales
{{Culture in Cardiff LGBT film awards LGBT film festivals in the United Kingdom Film festivals in Wales Festivals in Cardiff LGBT events in Wales 2007 establishments in the United Kingdom