Organisers of the Iris Prize have announced the 15 filmmakers who are competing for this year's Iris Prize Best British Short supported by Film4 and Pinewood Studios. Additionally, UK audiences can join in the experience by watching all the nominated shorts for free online.
The films take us into some of our darker depths but also celebrate our moments of pure joy. Diversity and representation are highly visible in many of this year's stories. Leo LeBeau’s Birthday Boy focusses on a transgender teenage whilst Three Letters from Welsh filmmaker stars former Mr Gay Wales, Paul Davies, who is also an advocate for disability. Directed by Ian Smith, he’s one of three Welsh filmmakers nominated alongside Eli Blose-Mason and Rosemary Baker who directed the animated Cwich Delien and dramatic Lesbian respectively.
Mencap ambassador George Webster is the charismatic star of S.A.M, directed by Neil Ely and Lloyd Eyre-Morgan who are no strangers to Iris Prize, having both been received Best of British nominations in previous years, with Lloyd winning for the hugely popular Closets. Interestingly, their frequent collaborator as cinematographer Mat Johns has directed the nominated Inertia.
This marks the continuation of a three-year sponsorship agreement with British producer/broadcaster Film4 which will see all nominated British shorts being available to watch for free on All4 after the festival.
All the nominated films are eligible for consideration for BAFTA and can automatically be entered by the filmmakers. You can view all the shortlisted films with extra details about the directors and images by following the link above.
