Following its physical residence at Cardiff‘s Premiere Cinema and Chapter Arts in October, 2021’s Iris Prize Film Festival is now heading to much smaller screens around the UK. Channel 4 and All 4 will air and stream, respectively, all 15 of the shortlisted short films that comprise this year’s celebration of LGBTQ-focussed filmmaking.
Among those in attendance while the festival was in Wales – both in cinemas and online – were several Buzz Culture students as part of the learning programme’s live briefs. Below are selected excerpts from some of the films that they reviewed, all of which will be available via Channel 4/All 4 from Nov 29.
Baba
Baba tells the story of Britannia, a young, queer Libyan man who must retrieve his passport from the home he had been expelled from years before if he hopes to secure asylum in the UK. It’s a wonderful short film, with some really excellent visual storytelling and compelling performances crammed into its lean 18-minute runtime.
Adam Ali brings a delightful energy to the character of Britannia, which stands in stark contrast to the life he and his friends live in in the dark tunnels beneath Tripoli. One of the great strengths of Baba is that we are not explicitly told that being queer is illegal here. We are instead shown this truth in the way that characters act: how they live beneath the streets, tensing at the sound of footsteps.
Dirs: Adam Ali and Sam Arbor (no rating) (18 mins)
words JAMES REYNOLDS for BUZZ CULTURE
Read the full review here.
Lesbian
Lesbian is a powerful short film based on a poem of the same name by Lisa Luxx, also the film’s writer, and is definitely worth a watch. Its main theme is fighting back against invisibility and erasure. Luxx is able to touch upon seemingly innumerable ideas in a very short space of time but the crux of her argument is that lesbians like herself, and the word lesbian, are ignored and pushed to the sidelines in the common discourse on queerness.
This is supported in visuals of a series of women who have all been painted to blend in with the backgrounds of their homes: left to sit quiet, docile and forgotten. It conveys incredibly clearly how it must feel to be invisible and consigned to the sidelines, even in your own home. Luxx herself is anything but docile, performing the poem with an incredible passion and energy that jumps off of the screen and bleeds through the speakers, demanding that you too feel that frustration that comes from being ignored for too long.
Dir: Rosemary Baker (no rating) (5 mins)
words JAMES REYNOLDS for BUZZ CULTURE
Read the full review here.
Cwch Deilen
I first saw Cwch Deilen (Leaf Boat) at an open-air screening during a film and food festival, where it may not have received the level of attention it deserved. This Welsh animation is far better suited to the quiet intimacy of the cinema. It was then screened in Cardiff as part of the Iris Prize LGBT+ film festival, alongside four other shorts, grouped together based on their power to make people smile – and the audience certainly did chuckle aloud at times, although the film is also very moving, despite its brevity.
Its story is a relatable one, full of the highly charged emotions felt when you meet somebody new. The beginning of a relationship can be daunting for anyone, and an LGBT+ relationship brings unique challenges and worries. For those who have experienced the ruminating thought patterns of anxiety or the heartbreak of a failed relationship, the phrase “what if,” repeated throughout the film, is all too familiar.
Dir: Efa Blosse-Mason (no rating) (8 mins)
words ROSANNA LEWIS for BUZZ CULTURE
Read the full review here.
Three Letters
The film Three Letters is a poignant depiction of the LGBTQ+ and disability campaigner Paul Davies, who attempts to write a cathartic letter to the father who has repudiated him as his gay son. Writing the three letters in question, ‘dad’, appears to be conflicting to Paul, as he begins to unveil the awkward and aloof relationship that he has with his father.
When drunk, his perplexed father used to question why people would celebrate Pride. Paul would explain that it’s about the sense of unity and togetherness, to no avail. Although Paul’s relationship with his stepfather was not perfect, he still felt more of a son to him; in contrast, his relationship with his stepmother was magical, the pair talking for hours and delving into make-believe worlds together. The burial of Paul’s grandmother, two years to the writing of the letter, was the last time that Paul saw his father; later, as anticipated by Paul, the death of his beloved stepmother led to the final link broken between him and his father.
Dir: Ian Smith (no rating) (7 mins)
words MARED THOMAS for BUZZ CULTURE
Read the full review here.
The 15 films shortlisted to compete for the 2021 Iris Prize Best British Short Supported by Film4 are:
BABA – Sam Arbor and Adam Ali – Winner
CWCH DEILEN (Wales) – Efa Blosse-Mason – Highly commended
POP – Margo Roe – Highly commended
ACRIMONIOUS – directed by Olivia Emden
BABY BOY – Greg Hall
BIRTHDAY BOY – Leo Lebeau
DRAGGED UP – Laura Jayne Tunbridge
FACTORY TALK – Lucie Rachel & Chrissie Hyde
FROM A TO Q – Emmalie El Fadli
INERTIA – Mat Johns
LESBIAN (Wales) – Rosemary Baker
S.A.M – Lloyd Eyre-Morgan & Neil David Ely
SILVER AND GOLD – Jack Pulford
SPLIT SOLE – Barnaby Boulton
THREE LETTERS (Wales) – Ian Smith
All 15 films will be broadcast on Channel 4 and streamed on All 4, beginning Mon 29 Nov. Info: here.
What’s The Role of Theatre in a Modern Wales?
Buzz Culture is bringing key voices together to find out.