Year on year, the Iris Prize brings inspiring and surprising films to the cinematic forefront – not just for South Wales but for those all over the world. Bethan Hunter discovers that 2013 looks just as promising.
South Wales isn’t exactly known as a direct rival to Cannes. Glistening white beaches, Mediterranean climes and A-list tourists may not be evident around these parts, but what many Cardiff citizens are not aware of is that the two cities have more in common than it would first appear. For one week in October venues across the capital will play host to Iris, the world’s biggest gay and lesbian short film festival. The international prize was established by the Festivals Company back in 2007, and has since been recognised as one of the world’s most diverse and respected LGBT film awards.
Appropriately named after Iris, the Greek goddess of the rainbow, the prize shortlists up to 30 cutting-edge short films from across the globe and offers both funding and support to the brains behind the winning entry. The short films submitted can cover any subject, so long as they have an LGBT-friendly core and a storyline that allows the movie to come in at a running time of under 40 minutes. Apart from those ground rules anything goes thematically, and previous award winners have centred on subjects as diverse as teen lust, illegal immigration and bloodthirsty rural communities.
The festival awards a grant of £25,000 to the lucky winner, which has so far been instrumental in producing four films that have gone on to pick up international approval left, right and centre. The competition is stiff – amateur hour this is not – and this year the ante has been upped even further. This year’s shortlist was cherry-picked by the elite Iris panel of judges, and features films about unrealised dreams in small-town Alaska, risky shower-hopping and the appeal of the ginger man. Fourteen countries are represented at this year’s festival, including entries from nations as disparate as Canada, Germany, India, the USA, Thailand and Brazil.
“It’s unlikely to be one of Cardiff’s
best kept secrets for much longer”
Though this year’s shortlist is dominated by US entries, 2013 is also an exciting year for home-grown talent. For the first time, since the prize’s inception, a Welsh candidate has made it through to the final. Cardiff-based filmmaker Jay Bedwani will no doubt be crossing his fingers for the success of his 10-minute documentary My Mother.
Last year’s hugely popular host Amy Lamé will be taking leave from her day job as a prominent London broadcast personality and returning once again to oversee the awards show with her characteristic chutzpah and Dame Edna-worthy cats-eye specs.
The excitement doesn’t end there as this year’s festival will open and close with two of 2013’s hottest tips. Renowned Israeli director Eytan Fox will be kick-starting proceedings with a cheeky preview of his brand new feature, Cupcakes, which centres on a group of friends from Tel Aviv who somehow wind up representing their nation in a Eurovision-style music contest.
Iris will come to a close with a one-off screening of Brit director Simon Savory’s latest outing. Bruno and Earlene Go To Vegas is an unconventional road movie that follows a young woman and her intersex teenage companion as they travel across Nevada. The film has already received a glowing reception in the US and looks set to be a suitably moving curtain call for this emotionally charged festival.
Despite its international reputation Iris has managed to retain a relatively low profile thus far, but given this year’s crop it’s unlikely to be one of Cardiff’s best kept secrets for much longer. Grab your tickets while you can.