Alec Evans looks ahead to the Cardiff-based Iris Prize, Wales’ ever growing international LGBT film festival.
Following on from the success of film events such as the Independent Film Festival and LGBT events such as Pride Cymru taking place in Cardiff, it’s somewhat fitting that Wales’ capital plays host to the prestigious LGBT film festival the Iris Prize. The Iris Prize, supported by the Michael Bishop Foundation, is an award valued at £30,000 to help filmmakers towards their next project, given out as part of a five-day festival, taking place throughout various areas in Cardiff; Cineworld, Chapter Arts Centre and Park Inn. The prize is only open to films by or directed towards the LGBT community, but the event stretches far beyond a niche audience; festival director Berwyn Rowlands says that the event has attracted global attention, with around 30% of crowds identifying as straight. The prize, which has run annually since 2007, is this year holding its 10th festival and celebrating its anniversary.
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‘Watch Films. Party Nightly. Repeat.’ goes the festival’s slogan, summing up the celebratory nature of the event. In 2016, there’s certainly a lot to celebrate. This year, the prize was named one of the ‘50 Film Festivals Worth the Entry Fee’ by US magazine Movie Maker. Perhaps most significantly, it was also promoted to BAFTA status in late July. This status, an accolade previously awarded to international film festivals such as Sundance, means that it is a qualifying festival for the BAFTAs, all 15 nominated films for the Best British Short Film prize automatically eligible to be entered for the prestigious British film awards.
As well as celebration, chair Andrew Pierce emphasises in a pre-festival welcome letter that the landmark event for the Iris Prize will be one of reflection – both with happiness of how far things have come for the LGBT community over the years (1967 was the date of the act decriminalising homosexuality in England and Wales), and how much further they must develop in some areas, reminding audiences of the tragic events that happened in Orlando this June. The purpose of the Iris Prize is not just to entertain, but to educate. Sharing stories through film is one of the most effective ways of showing life as a member of the LGBT community, and Iris Prize team member Gwion ap Rhisiart explains that storytelling is the main criteria in which films are judged.
“Storytelling was always the main priority and fundamental reason for the creation of the Prize, we want to recognise excellence in scripts, camera work, sound and editing. If there are weaknesses in any of these elements, the effectiveness of the story you’re trying to tell is compromised,” he explains. As the festival has grown in popularity, the tastes of Iris Prize’s audiences have refined, increasing the standard of the festival. “Ten years ago, when the prize was established, it almost felt acceptable to produce an LGBT film which was just ‘ok’. That has long since changed.”
The grand winner of the festival is the winner of the Iris Prize itself. The £30,000 put towards the production of the next film is the largest prize for an LGBT film festival in the world. What happens after the prize is awarded? Last year’s prize went to Vessels, a film about a transgender woman considering a dangerous operation, by LA-based writer and director Arkasha Stevenson. Rhisiart says production for Stevenson’s next film is already taking place. “Once the Iris Prize is awarded at the end of the Festival, a close relationship begins between Iris and the film maker. As part of the Prize, we nurture and support the film maker in the process of producing their next film. Arkasha Stevenson’s film is currently in post-production. It’s looking very good and we are very excited by it.” Stevenson is one of the judges on the jury for this year’s season.
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Indeed, the Iris Prize has a history of being awarded to films that have gone on to be successful. Rhisiart says one of the most popular winners among audiences was 2014 winner Spoilers (Brendon MacDonall), which received a BAFTA Cymru and BBC Two Wales screening in March. Another film well worthy of mention is Burger, a short film, made by Norway’s Magnus Mork, set late night in a Cardiff burger bar, which went on to win the Direction and Ensemble Acting Award at the Sundance Film Festival in 2014.
Despite the clear LGBT links between the films, there are a wide range of different genres and nationalities represented in this year’s Iris Prize nominations. The organisers say it is often very difficult to predict who will be successful. Testament to the Iris Prize’s status as a truly global event, there are entries from all corners of the earth. Israel is represented with Erez Eisenstein’s How to be Alone, Renato Muro’s Il Manichino flies the Italian flag and Kaspar Wan’s Kaspa X – If I Had a Soul is from Hong Kong. For all the variety though, there are still some themes running throughout this year’s season, which Rhisiart says include topics such as horror and aging. Aging is shown in Welsh writer Kayleigh Llewellyn’s short film Oh Be Joyful, about a teenage girl and her disabled grandmother. For horror fans, there is the opening night’s crowdfunded zombie film Kill Pill by Lloyd Eyre-Morgan.
But the same festival that begins with a zombie apocalypse ends in a rather more glamorous fashion. The closing ceremony of the Iris Prize, casually referred to as the Gay Oscars, is an award show with food, drinks and music presented by Capital FM broadcaster Matt Lissack. It’s here the 10th winner of the prize will be announced by Lord Glendonbrook, a patron of the prize since 2011 and one of the UK’s first openly homosexual senior executives. As well as the grand £30,000 prize, there are awards for Best British Short, Best Feature, Best Actor, Best Actress and Youth Jury Award for Best Short.
So what are the Iris Prize’s secrets of success a decade into its journey as a festival? As well as the generous prize itself, Rhisiart says the city of Cardiff itself is the ideal place for such an event. He explains: “Cardiff is a small and compact City, but it has everything that’s needed to complement and enhance the festival, which may be lost in a bigger city. The Friends of Iris network throughout the city has been very successful over the years. Friends can support the festival by either accommodating a visiting film maker or jury member, or by volunteering with the Iris team. It all helps to create a very welcoming and inclusive festival, and that is one of its biggest virtues.”
The Iris Prize team are also keen to look forward to cinema’s future. As well as the 5-day festival itself, the team deliver an education programme in five schools across Wales thanks to funding from Ffilm Cymru Wales and have begun a 3-year community project throughout Wales. “The relationship between the festival and the city isn’t only for the festival, it’s something we develop all year long,” says Rhisiart. “Our chair, Andrew Pierce, has spent a day with students at Cardiff University, and students from the University have also gained work experience with Iris.” The organisers are working with the younger generation to ensure that the future of LGBT film is in safe hands. As for the present, there’s no better place to discover more than at The Iris Prize festival.
The Iris Prize Festival, Various venues throughout Cardiff, Wed 12 – Sun 16 Oct. Tickets: prices vary per event. Info: www.irisprize.org