The search begins for a winner as the Iris Prize comes of age for the 18th edition of the prestigious Cardiff-based film festival

The organisers of the prestigious LGBTQ+ short film festival based in Cardiff are pleased to announce today (15 January 2024) that submissions are open for the 18^th edition of the Iris Prize LGBTQ+ Film Festival to be held Tuesday 8 October to Sunday 13 October 2024.

The Iris Prize LGBTQ+ Film Festival is looking for excellent short and feature films and has 14 awards to hand out including the internationally coveted £30,000 Iris Prize supported by the Michael Bishop Foundation.

Closer to home, the winner of the Iris Prize Best British Short sponsored by Film4 and Pinewood Studios will receive a package of services sponsored by Pinewood Studios and all the nominated films are eligible for consideration for BAFTA and can automatically be entered by the filmmakers. All films in the Best British 2024 shortlist will be broadcast on Film4 and available on Channel 4’s streaming service as part of Film4’s continuing support for the festival.

The Iris Prize LGBTQ+ Film Festival will present 14 awards in the following categories:  

 

• Iris Prize– the largest LGBTQ+ short film prize in the world supported by The Michael Bishop Foundation
• Iris Prize Best BritishShort sponsored by Film4 and Pinewood Studios
• Iris Prize Best British Performance in a Female Rolesponsored by Out & Proud
• Iris Prize Best British Performance in a Male Rolesponsored by Out & Proud
• Iris Prize Best British Performance Beyond the Binary sponsored by Out & Proud 

• Iris Prize Best Feature, sponsored by Bad Wolf
• Best Performance in a Female Role in a feature film, sponsored by DIVA Magazine
• Best Performance in a Male Role in a feature film, sponsored by Attitude Magazine
• Best Performance Beyond the Binary in a feature film, sponsored by Peccadillo Pictures
• Youth Jury Awardsponsored by Cardiff University
  
• Community Awardsponsored by Mark Williams in memory of Rose Taylor
• Education Awardsponsored by Mark Williams in memory of Rose Taylor
• Micro Short Award sponsored by Mark Williams in memory of Rose Taylor
• Iris Prize Co-op Audience Award

 

Grant Vidgen, Iris Prize Company Manager, said:

“We’ve not long said goodbye to Iris for 2023 and now we find ourselves announcing the dates for submissions opening today (15 January 2024).

“Iris18 sees our festival come of age, and we will continue to champion excellence in storytelling from around the world.  The platform we offer new and established LGBTQ+ filmmakers and stories continues to grow, and we hope that this year we will make Iris and our audiences proud by delivering the best festival ever.”

More details about submission dates can be found here https://irisprize.org/lgbtq-film-festival/submissions/

Iris Prize will return this year: Tuesday 8 October – Sunday 13 October 2024.

 Full details about Iris Prize and this year’s winners can be found here:  www.irisprize.org