The Iris Prize 2021: what is LGBT+ film awards, which short films won, and where can I watch them?

The Iris Prize LGBT+ Film Festival, is a Cardiff-based annual celebration of LGBT+ film.

Over its 16-year history, the festival has become a leading voice in honouring LGBT+ short films, and is seen as a significant event within the British festival calendar.

As a BAFTA-qualifying festival for British film, it is also home to the Iris Prize £30,000 film award, which gives the deserving winner the opportunity to create and fund their next short film.

Which award-winning LGBT+ films have been shortlisted?

The 15 shortlisted films from 2021, explore the breadths of the British LGBTQ+ experience, with stories ranging from intense topics of drug addiction and workplace bullying, to the light-hearted experiences of first love, and the releasing of your inner drag king.

As the main sponsor of the festival’s Best British Short film competition, Film4 has the broadcast and streaming rights to all 15 films.

Film4 has a three-year sponsorship deal with the Iris Prize LGBT+ Film Festival, which started in 2020.

The shortlisted films were free to view by UK audiences for the first time in 2020. They received half a million views on All4 and half a million viewers on Channel 4.

The latest shortlisted films have been grouped into three different themes, and these themes will be available to watch over three consecutive days, in March.

The themes are: Dark Days, Smile, and Resilience.

‘Dark Days’ consists of five films, which take a long and unflinching look at the darker side of LGBTQ+ life. The titles include: Factory Talk, Baby Boy, Pop, Inertia, and Birthday Boy.

The second theme ‘Smile’ includes  five films with life-affirming stories about LGBT+ experiences of life and love, through whimsical, and magical animation to touching drama and romantic rendezvous. The film titles in this category are Cwch Deilen (Leaf Boat), Silver and Gold, Dragged Up, From A to Q and SAM.

‘Resilience’, is the third theme, and these five films focus on surviving and thriving, whatever your circumstances may be.  The films titles in this category are Lesbian, Three Letters, Acrimonious, Baba and Split Sole.

The shortlist displays a diverse bunch of characters, from a transgender teenager to Mr Gay Wales (Paul Davies).

One film in particular, ‘Baba’, won both the main Iris Prize and the British Short Award. The film shows the struggles of Britannia, a gay Libyan teenager, as he battles with the idea of staying or fleeing his beloved homeland.

Two other highly commended films are Cwch Deilen (Leaf Boat) and Pop.

Cwch Deilen (Leaf Boat) is a welsh-language animated short film which tells the story of Heledd and Celyn, as they enter a new relationship. It portrays the characters’ internal emotions through visuals of stormy seas.

Pop is a story about gender identity and social expectation. The young character Jack befriends a convict that he starts to see as a father figure, in the hopes of understanding his own masculinity.

How do I watch the Iris Prize Best British Shorts?

The 15 LGBTQ+ films as listed above, will be broadcast on Channel 4 and streamed on All4, over three consecutive days - starting on Monday 28 March.

Tuesday 29 March - ‘Dark Days’ at 1.50am - 3.15am

Factory Talk, Baby Boy, Pop, Inertia, and Birthday Boy.

Wednesday 30 March - ‘Smile’ at 2.10am - 3.30am

Cwch Deilen (Leaf Boat), Silver and Gold, Dragged Up, From A to Q and SAM.

Thursday 31 March - ‘Resilience’ at 1.50am - 2.55am

Lesbian, Three Letters, Acrimonious, Baba and Split Sole.