15 British films exploring the ups and downs of modern LGBT+ life entered for the £20,000 prize
BY SOPHIE GRIFFITHS
Iris Prize LGBT+ Film Festival have announced details of the 15 short films competing for the Best British Award this year and there are some absolute gems in there you won’t want to miss!
There’s even a £20,000 award being offered up to the Best British LGBT+ short film, provided by Pinewood Studios Group.
The winner will be announced during the film festival, set to take place in Cardiff, Wales this October.
Berwyn Rowlands, Iris Prize director said: “This shortlist is possibly the most eclectic mix competing for the Iris Prize Best British award that I can remember.
“As with the best of modern British short film, these are tales spanning animation, documentary, comedy, science fiction and beyond. Luckily the shortlisted filmmakers have remembered that regardless of genre you must tell a story, and can this lot tell a story!”
The nominated films are full of LGBTQI representation and share all sorts of experiences faced by the community today. From a queer love story about human cloning, to a dance piece celebrating objectophilia and self-pleasure – there’s something for everyone’s queer film appetite!
Need some recommendations? No problem. Here are some of the super queer shortlisted films that have caught our attention…
Jenny is a dedicated follower of a strange American movement rejecting feminism in favour of traditional gender roles. #Tradwives explores the rifts her devotion is causing with her friends and LGBTQI daughter.
Featuring Munroe Bergdorf in the lead role, the story focuses on a woman coming to terms with her past on the day of her legal name change.
Angela Cooper and Luchia Fitzgerald have spent the last half a century fighting for their rights as women and as lesbians. Their work has revolutionised Manchester whilst transforming the lives of thousands of women and yet no record of them exists in the city’s archives. Theirs is a story that risked disappearing from history. Until now.
My Brother Is A Mermaid is a fairytale about a seven-year-old boy discovering that his teenage sibling is transgender.
The names of the 36 short films competing for the Iris Prize will be announced on Friday 16 August 2019.
For more details about all 15 films competing for the Best British Prize and how you can get a chance to see them, head here.
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