Iris Prize LGBTQ+ Film Festival unveils 2023 programme
Our Son, starring Luke Evans and Billy Porter, is among the films being shown this year
The Iris Prize LGBTQ+ Film Festival shared its programme for 2023 on its official website this morning (Monday 4 September 2023).
Wales’ celebration of queer film takes place from Tuesday 10 to Sunday 15 October 2023 in Cardiff.
The event will see 35 short films from 21 countries in competition for the International Iris Prize, or the £30,000 Iris Prize International Short Film Competition supported by The Michael Bishop Foundation.
This year’s programme in total includes more than 50 short films, 12 feature films, and talks from film industry professionals – plus a gig being held at Cardiff’s newest queer space, Enby’s, in Wharton Street, Cardiff.
“It is quite unusual for us to get all the feature films we wanted”
Berwyn Rowlands, Iris Prize LGBTQ+ Film Festival Director, said: “There is always some apprehension mixed with the excitement when we go live with the full Iris programme. This year we have a fabulous mix of LGBTQ+ stories to share; our audience are in for a week of emotions as we watch films, talk about films, and much more.
“2023 feels like a very special year for Iris as we welcome people back to the cinema. Making sure you have a fabulous programme is important if we are going to be successful. It is quite unusual for us to get all the feature films we wanted – but this year we did, and we’ve ended up with 12 and not the 10 we had originally planned.
“If I was forced to choose one highlight it would have to be Chuck Chuck Baby. The last time I was this excited was after seeing Muriel’s Wedding at a festival almost 30 years ago. Directed by Janis Pugh, the film is a feel-good movie set in a chicken factory in north Wales. It will make you cry. It will make you laugh. And it will probably get you dancing in your seat. And if ‘Northern Lights’ by Renaissance doesn’t re-enter the charts on its release, I will eat my hat!”
Another movie on the Iris Prize lineup is Our Son, directed by Bill Oliver. It follows a divorcing couple fighting for custody of their 8-year-old son. It stars Luke Evans and Billy Porter.
Box office for the festival opens today for Iris Members, with general sales starting on 19 September, 2023.
The online version of the Iris Prize available in the UK until the end of October.
For more information on the Iris Prize, click here.