This will be the fourth year of the second iteration of this project
BY ELLA GAUCI, IMAGE PROVIDED
Iris Prize LGBTQ+ Film Festival have announced that the Pink Portraits project will return for 2026 in partnership with BBC Cymru Wales and Ffotogallery, coinciding with the 20th anniversary of the festival.
Next year’s Pink Portraits will be the fourth year of the second iteration of the project that was launched in 2010. Back then, Scottish photographer Donald MacLellan photographed 20 gay and lesbian professionals working in front and behind the lens, including Sophie Ward, Sir Ian McKellen and more. Pink Portraits was revisited in 2023, capturing the LGBTQIA+ professionals working in film and television.
Berwyn Rowlands, Iris Prize Festival Director, said: “I can’t imagine any other organisation suitable to partner with the Pink Portraits in our 20th anniversary year. The BBC represents confidence, inclusion, and belonging, and Iris shares all of these values.”
For this year’s Pink Portraits, television company Bad Wolf presented the collection. There was also an exhibition on the Opening Night of the Iris Prize LGBTQ+ Film Festival to show the behind-the-scenes of this project.
Garmon Rhys, Director BBC Cymru Wales, spoke about the new partnership: “Through the Pink Portraits 2026, BBC Cymru Wales and the Iris Prize will celebrate the diversity of the BBC in Wales. We’re so pleased to be working with the Iris Prize in its twentieth year and look forward to seeing how the project develops over the next twelve months.”
Last year, 12 portraits celebrating LGBTQIA+ professionals working for Transport for Wales were showcased, taken by Sarah Scorey, who also made a short film about the process.
You can find out more about Iris Prize LGBTQ+ Film Festival here: irisprize.org
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