Iris Prize
The Iris Prize, established in 2007 by Berwyn Rowlands of The Festivals Company, is an international LGBT film prize which is open to any film which is by, for, about or of interest to gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender or intersex 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 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.[1]
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 Toronto, Los Angeles, New York, Sydney Film Festival, Dublin, London, San Francisco, Philadelphia, Miami, Montreal, Hong Kong, and Rochester.[2]
The journalist Andrew Pierce became the first chair of the Iris Prize in 2013.[3]
Iris Prize Winners[]
- 2007 - Pariah by Dee Rees (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 by Daniel Ribeiro (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 - by Lara Zeidan (Lebanon/UK)
- 2019 - Black Hat by Sarah Smith (USA)[4]
- 2020 - Short Calf Muscle by Victoria Warmerdam (Netherlands)[5]
Best British Short Winners[]
- 2007 - Private Life by Abbe Robinson
- 2008 - James 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 [6]
Iris Prize Best Feature Award Winners[]
- 2008 - Dream Boy by James Bolton (USA)
- 2009 - by David Lewis (USA)
- 2010 - My Friend from Faro by Nana Neul (Germany)
- 2011 - August by Eldar Rapaport (USA)
- 2012 - Sex of Angels by Xavier Vilaverde (Spain)
- 2013 - Cupcakes (Bananot) by Eytan Fox (Israel)
- 2014 - Boy Meets Girl by Eric Schaeffer (USA)
- 2015 - 4th Man Out by Andrew Nackman (USA)
- 2016 - by Shaleece Haas (USA)
- 2017 - Prom King, 2010 by Christopher Schaap (USA)
- 2018 - 1985 by Yen Tan (USA)
- 2019 - And Then We Danced by Levan Akin (Sweden/Georgia)[7]
- 2020 - Cocoon by Leonie Krippendorff (Germany)
Best Performance in a Male Role[]
- 2011 - Murray Bartlett, August
- 2012 - Ohad Knoller, Yossi
- 2013 - Ryan Steele, Five Dances
- 2014 - Michael Welch, Boy Meets Girl
- 2015 - , Darker Than Midnight (Più buio di mezzanotte)
- 2016 - Thom Green, Downriver
- 2017 - , Teenage Kicks
- 2018 - Félix Maritaud, Sauvage
- 2019 - Henry Golding, Monsoon
- 2020 - Leandro Faria Lelo, Dry Wind
Best Performance in a Female Role[]
- 2011 – , Going Down in LA-LA Land
- 2012 – ,
- 2013 – ,
- 2014 – Kate Trotter, Tru Love
- 2015 – , (Zomer)
- 2016 – Kerry Fox, Downriver
- 2017 – Fawzia Mirza, Signature Move
- 2018 – Jamie Chung, 1985
- 2019 – , Mom + Mom
- 2020 - Lena Urzendowsy, Cocoon
Youth Jury Award[]
- 2013 – Straight With You, (Netherlands)
- 2014 – Bombshell, (USA)
- 2015 – Closets, (UK)
- 2016 – Sign, Andrew Keenan-Bolger (USA)
- 2017 – Lily, Graham Cantwell (Ireland)
- 2018 – Mrs McCutcheon, John Sheedy (Australia)
- 2019 – My Brother is a Mermaid, Alfie Dale
- 2020 - Wings, Jamie Weston
Diva Box Office Award[]
- 2019 – Greta, Sparkman Clark (USA)
Co-op Audience Award[]
- 2020 - Wings by Jamie Weston[8]
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
- London Lesbian and Gay Film Festival
- Outfest – Los Angeles Gay and Lesbian Film Festival
- Miami Gay and Lesbian Film Festival
- Frameline - San Francisco International LGBT Film Festival
- Hong Kong Lesbian and Gay Film Festival
- Queer Screen Vision – Sydney’s Mardi Gras Film Festival
- NewFest - New York Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, & Transgender Film Festival
- Philadelphia International Gay & Lesbian Film Festival
- ImageOut: The Rochester LGBT Film & Video Festival
- KASHISH Mumbai International Queer Film Festival
- Queer Vision - Bristol Pride's Film Festival (UK)
- Queer Lisboa - International Queer Film Festival (PT)
References[]
- ^ "Iris Prize LGBT+ Film Festival". www.bafta.org. 2016-10-17. Retrieved 2020-06-12.
- ^ "5 NEW PARTNERS FOR IRIS' 10th ANNIVERSARY - Iris Prize". Retrieved 2016-07-18.
- ^ "Andrew Pierce Confirmed as Chair | News". www.thefestivalscompany.co.uk. Retrieved 2017-05-23.
- ^ "Jewish film wins Welsh LGBT+ film prize". BBC News. 2019-10-13. Retrieved 2020-06-12.
- ^ "Film: Welsh filmmakers shortlisted for Iris Prize". BBC News. 2020-10-10. Retrieved 2020-11-24.
- ^ "IRIS PRIZE ANNOUNCES 2020 WINNERS". Iris Prize. Retrieved 2020-11-24.
- ^ "Film4 - a pivotal moment for Iris Prize | Channel 4". www.channel4.com. Retrieved 2020-06-12.
- ^ EDITOR (2020-11-10). "SCREEN: Wings announced as the winner of the Iris Prize Audience Award". DIVA. Retrieved 2020-11-24.CS1 maint: extra text: authors list (link)
External links[]
- LGBT film awards
- LGBT film festivals in the United Kingdom
- Film festivals in Wales
- Festivals in Cardiff
- LGBT events in Wales