NEW DELHI: Ten short films will compete at the inaugural Iris Prize British short film festival being held in October.
Organised by Iris Prize and supported by The Michael Bishop Foundation, the winner of the Iris Prize Best British Short will be announced on 12 October during the festival in Cardiff.
The winner will receive a post-production package to help with the making of their next film, comprising sound mixing, sound track lay and dub plus layback. The package is worth ?14,000 and is sponsored by Pinewood Studios Group.
“British films have always been well received at the Iris Prize Film Festival and we are delighted to be screening 10 of the best British LGBT shorts this year. I’m delighted that Pinewood Studios has agreed to sponsor this important prize, they represent everything which makes the British Film Industry the envy of the world,” said Festival chairman Andrew Pierce.
The films will be judged by a five strong independent jury chaired by Judith Noble who is a senior lecturer in Film Production at the Arts University Bournemouth. The full jury is Judith Noble – Senior Lecturer in Film Production at the Arts University Bournemouth; Andrew Leitch – Lead officer on LGBT equalities within Creative Scotland; Lowri Haf Cooke – Arts critic and blogger; Robert Gershinson – Director and photographer, Co-founder of Queer As Film; and Victoria Ashfield – Cross discipline composer.
The 10 film competing for the 2014 Iris Prize Best British Short are:
• Brace – dir: Sophy Holland, Alicya Eyo
• Butterfly – dir: Stuart McLaughlin
• Holly Thursday (The Last Supper) – dir: Antony Hickling
• Middle Man – dir: Charlie Francis
• Playing The Game – dir: Jeremy Timings
• Remission – dir: Christopher Brown
• Siren – dir: Louise Marie Cooke
• Vis a Vis – dir: Dan Connolly
• Wannabe – dir: Marco Calabrese
• We are Fine – dir: Simon Savory
The 2014 Iris Prize Festival will present six main awards:
1. The Iris Prize – Cardiff’s International gay and lesbian short film prize supported by The Michael Bishop Foundation is valued at ?25,000 and remains the only short film prize in the world which allows the winner to make a new film.
2. Iris Prize Best British Short sponsored by Pinewood Studios Group and valued at ?14,000 will be presented for the first time in 2014.
3. Iris Prize Best Feature Award valued at ?1,000 is sponsored by Martin Brigs and presented to the best new feature screened at the festival.
4. Best Actor in a Feature
5. Best Actress in a Feature
6. Iris Prize Youth Jury Award sponsored by Cardiff University and presented to one of the short films as selected by a jury of 10 between the ages of 14 and 17.
