Over the past few days, Cardiff has played host to the annual Iris Prize Festival, where over 40 of the best LGBT-themed short films were screened, along with some great feature-length movies. It’s all been leading up to the awards ceremony, which included the Iris Prize itself, where the best short in the festival is honoured and the filmmaker given funding and support worth £25,000 to make a new film!
That gong has now been given out, with Gorilla, directed by Tim Marshall, picking up the main prize. That makes it two in a row for Australia, as last year’s winner, Grant Scicluna’s The Wilding, was also from the country. Gorilla is about a newly formed couple who are forced to face the unknown in their lives when a mysterious woman arrives at their secluded campsite.
Gilly Adams, representative of the jury, commented on this year’s film selection, “IRIS 2013 has reminded us of the enjoyment to be had in discussing film. We’ve learned new ways of looking at cinema through sharing ideas, and often found our opinions changed by the challenge of listening to opposing views. We were impressed by the strength of the documentaries in this year’s selection – subtler and perhaps less angry than in the past. Across the board we felt that the storytelling and the film making were better and a cause for optimism about the future of LGBT cinema.”
It was also announced that the festival’s award for best feature film was won by Eytan Fox for Cupcakes. The Award carries a £1,000 cash prize donated by Martin Briggs from Cardiff and is selected by the Friends of Iris. The Best UK Short was won by Jay Bedwani for his film My Mother. Jay will be invited to be a member of the 2014 Iris Prize International Jury. .
For Dorian, directed by Rodrigo Barriuso (Canada), and The Last Time I Saw Richard, directed by Nicholas Verso (Australia), were highly commended by the jury,
The awards for best actor and best actress in a feature film were presented to Ryan Steele for his performance as Chip in the film Five Dances and Sabine Wolf for her performance as Katja in Two Mothers.
You can see the full list of winners below, and check out the synopses for all the shorts that screened by clicking here:
Gorilla (directed by Tim Marshall, Australia) – Iris Prize
My Mother (directed by Jay Bedwani) – Best UK Short
Cupcakes (directed by Eytan Fox) – Iris Prize Best Feature Award
Ryan Steele (Chip in Five Dances) Best Actor in a Feature
Sabine Wolf (Katja in Two Mothers) Best Actress in a Feature
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