Iris Prize celebrates National Lottery award

Organisers of the Iris Prize, the largest LGBTQ+ short film prize which successfully applied for £195,330 from The National Lottery Community Fund, have launched a Wales-wide, three-year project working with community groups from across the country to discuss issues faced by LGBTQ+ people.

Working with the LGBTQ+ community and their allies, the team, which also works in partnership with BAFTA Cymru, Pride Cymru and Stonewall Cymru, are looking for community groups who, thanks to the support of National Lottery players during these challenging times, will produce a film addressing issues faced by the LGBTQ+ community. All of the completed films will be available to watch online.

The Iris Prize intends to build on their previous Iris in the Community project, creating more opportunities for community members to make films that relay a campaign for change.

Team Iris will be working with 10 community groups to discuss issues faced by the LGBTQ+ community and produce a film in response. Beneficiaries will have opportunities to take part in acting workshops, and gain skills in filmmaking and scriptwriting. The groups involved do not need to work within the LGBTQ+ community, but will be diverse in their membership, for example welcoming people with learning disabilities.

Berwyn Rowlands, festival director, said:
 “Without this funding from The National Lottery Community Fund we would not be able to run this project. We have been inundated by community groups across Wales asking if we could work with them, today we can confirm, with a very BIG YES!”

Community groups who are interested in discovering more should CLICK HERE