Iris Prize announces shortlist for the Best British Short 2024
"Every year we are thrilled to share with our festival audience and juries the very best of LGBTQ+ storytelling from across the UK," Berwyn Rowlands, the Iris Prize Film Festival Director, has said
The Iris Prize LGBTQ+ Film Festival has announced the 15 films shortlisted for the 2024 Best British Short category.
The Best British Short, supported by Film4 as well as Pinewood Studios, will be announced during the festival, set to take place in Cardiff between 8 and 13 October 2024.
All of the shortlisted films will be available to stream on Channel 4 for a year after the festival. They will then be offered a non-exclusive second window on OUTTv‘s global platforms. All are also eligible for BAFTA nomination. The winner of Best British Short gets an exclusive screening of their film at Pinewood Studios. They will also help judge the 2025 Iris Prize Best British category.
The Iris Prize Best British Short, supported by Film4 and Pinewood Studios:
Diomysus: More Than Monogamy, directed by Emily Morus-Jones
An experimental film where a group of mice (voiced by members of the UK polyamorous community whose identities are masked using puppetry) discuss their experiences of polyamory. Diomysus asks the question – are we (the audience) more open to taboo ideas if unconscious bias is eliminated?
Divine Intervention, directed by Ravenna Tran
To get the promotion of their dreams, a mischievous earth-bound angel must get two ex-best friends to finally admit their love to each other.
Everything Looks Simple from a Distance, directed by Conor Toner
With tensions mounting in 1969 Northern Ireland, Noah tries to convince politicians, money men, priests, and also paramilitaries that a trip to the moon may be the best route to peace.
Fairview Park, directed by Aymeric Nicolet and Ellie Hodgetts
A film based on the murder of Declan Flynn, seen as a major catalyst for Ireland’s LGBTQ Pride movement.
G Flat, directed by Peter Darney
An 84-year-old stroke survivor sends for a sex worker leading to an unexpected climax.
I Hope He Doesn’t Kill Me., directed by Lyndon Henley Hanrahan and Nora Dahle Borchgrevink
Buzz waits outside the apartment building of his anonymous Grindr hookup, imagining all the depraved ways this night could end. Horrified yet horny, Buzz buzzes the buzzer.
Making Up, directed by Ryan Paige
It’s the late 1980s in East End London and drag queen Ted, who is diagnosed with a hereditary illness, must reconcile with his estranged daughter, Cassandra.
Miss Temperance, directed by Jeremy McClain
In Glasgow’s alt-queer party scene, a drag artist navigates the night of their return to the stage after being one year sober.
Rage Consumes Me, directed by Felix Waverley-Hudson
This is a poetic and also provocative exploration of being non-binary in today’s society, of anger and despair as your personhood and identity is stripped away.
Rejoyce!, directed by David Ledger
After the death of her husband, an elderly vicar’s wife unearths a book of erotic fiction that she wrote in her youth.
Sally Leapt out of a Window Last Night, directed by Tracy Spottiswoode
Ireland 1778. Sally and Eleanor flout convention and scandalise society to escape the fate their families have planned for them. They elope. Inspired by the true story of the legendary ‘Ladies of Llangollen.’
Sister Wives, directed by Louisa Connolly-Burnham
Two sister wives married to the same man start to develop feelings for each other.
Until Today, directed by Megan Lyons
After her overbearing mother arranges a loveless marriage, a young aristocrat must consider the price of familial duty when it threatens a forbidden romance with her best friend.
Water’s Edge, directed by Jason Barker
In near future rural Somerset, Anna is trying to be a happily married woman. But the arrival of a troupe of travelling players on the farm tests her beliefs to the limit.
Who’s Kitty Amor?, directed by Maik Diederen
From her South London upbringing, formative clubbing years at Nottingham University running nights at the legendary Stealth nightclub, and her international DJ success across the globe, Kitty Amor’s remarkable rise through the ranks of the UK scene and unwavering dedication to flying the flag for Africa’s Electronic Music is told like never before in documentary short.
Berwyn Rowlands, the Iris Prize Film Festival Director, has said: “Every year we are thrilled to share with our festival audience and juries the very best of LGBTQ+ storytelling from across the UK, as Iris continues to be a celebration of global stories and Cardiff charm. We are also pleased that this prize is supported by one of the most LGBTQ+-friendly broadcasters and champion of the Iris Prize, and each of the British films in competition will be available to stream on Channel 4 for 12 months following the festival. This is a brilliant and much-valued partnership which has helped Iris to reach a new audience for LGBTQ+ stories.”
For full details on this year’s Iris Prize festival click here.