Organisers of the Iris Prize, supported by The Michael Bishop Foundation have today announced the directors of 15 short films who will be competing for the Iris Prize Best British Short.  These have been selected from a record number of over 100 submissions from all areas of the UK and they address a wide range of issues to do with love, life, death and hope from teenage years to old age, encountering bullies, drug abuse, lifelong love, random acts of kindness and zombies.

Five of the films have been nominated by five UK LGBT festival partners that are BFI Flare, London; Liverpool Pride; Scottish Queer International Film Festival (SQIFF); Queer Vision, Bristol, and Outburst, Belfast.

The winner will receive a post-production package to help with the making of their next film, comprising of sound mixing, sound track lay and dub plus layback. The package is worth an amazing £20,000 and is sponsored by Pinewood Studios Group.

Berwyn Rowlands, festival director, says, “This award allows Iris to have a direct link with our indigenous film makers supporting LGBT film making talent across England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland. The eclectic mix of topics to be seen on screen also suggest that we have an abundance of LGBT stories to share with the world. If you think you know what a gay short film is all about, think again! I’m always surprised, sometimes shocked but always entertained by what our film makers present on screen.”

Andrew Pierce, Chair of Iris Prize, says, “Since the creation of the award for the best British short, this has become a prize of increasing significance to the filmmakers.  The £20,000 sponsorship from Pinewood Studios has been a major factor in its success, and this year, the recent announcement that all nominated films are eligible for BAFTA consideration only serves to strengthen the recognition of LGBT film talent in Britain”.

The shortlist of 15 films are listed below:   MORE DETAILS HERE

ARIEL (2016) -  directed by Macéo Bhardwaj

ACCEPTANCE (2106)  - directed by Justin Groves

BALCONY (2015) -  directed by  Toby Fell-Holden 

CROSSROAD (2016)  - directed by Leon Lopez

DAWN (2016)   -  directed by Jake Graf          

G O’CLOCK (2015)   -  directed by Mitch Marion                                                                                                                                                                                                                              

HIGH HEELS ARE COMPULSORY (2015)  -  directed by Annabel Cooper

OH-BE-JOYFUL (2015)  -  directed by Susan Jacobson

PARTING (2016)   -  directed by Dimitris Toulias

QUEEN’S MILE (2016)  –  directed by Martin Delaney

SAUNA THE DEAD (2016)  -  directed by Tom Frederic                                                                                                             

SOULS (2016)  –  directed by Daniel Gage

SPILT MILK (2016)  - directed by James Dunstan

TAKE YOUR PARTNERS (2015)  -  directed by Siri Rødnes

THE CARER (2106) – directed by Christine Parker

In addition, for the first time all of the nominated films are eligible for consideration for BAFTA and can automatically be entered by the filmmakers.

The organisers have also confirmed the names of the 35 short films competing for the Iris Prize supported by The Michael Bishop Foundation. At £30,000 the Iris Prize continues to be the world’s largest LGBT short film prize.

The main festival sponsors are: The Michael Bishop Foundation, Welsh Government, BFI, Ffilm Cymru Wales, Pinewood Studios Group, Cardiff University, Gorilla Group, Cineworld, Chapter, Gay Star News, Pride Cymru.