Iris Prize Marks 20 Years in Cardiff With £40,000 LGBTQ+ Filmmaking Prize
The Iris Prize LGBTQ+ Film Festival celebrates its 20th edition in Cardiff this October, with global short films and a £40,000 prize.
Twenty years ago, a Cardiff film festival set out to back LGBTQ+ storytellers with real money, not just a trophy. Two decades later, it's still the biggest prize of its kind on the planet, and this October, it's up for grabs again.
The Iris Prize LGBTQ+ Film Festival runs October 12 to 18 in Cardiff, and the numbers alone make the case. There are 35 short films from 22 countries, spoken in 14 different languages and formats, all competing for a jaw dropping £40,000. That's not prize money the winner can spend however they like, either. It's earmarked to fund their next LGBTQ+ short, filmed right there in Wales. Win once, and Iris hands you the resources to do it all again.
It doesn't stop at the main competition. Another 15 films are battling it out for Best British Short, and 16 features round out a programme hefty enough to fill an entire week, not just a Saturday matinee. Better still, the filmmakers actually show up in person. Q&As and conversations run throughout the festival, so audiences aren't just watching from the dark. They're hearing straight from the people who made it happen.
The week builds to a genuine crescendo. Opening Night lands on October 12, followed by Education, Community and Industry days, then Best British Day on the 16th, an Iris20 anniversary celebration on the 17th, and finally the £40,000 reveal on Sunday the 18th.
Screenings start at just £7, with full festival passes on offer for anyone planning to go all in for the week.
Twenty years on, Iris isn't just still running. It's still handing out the biggest prize in LGBTQ+ short filmmaking anywhere in the world
