The 20th edition of the Iris Prize LGBTQ+ Film Festival, featuring award-winning LGBTQ+ cinema, live Q&As with directors, and industry events across Cardiff.
The Iris Prize LGBTQ+ Film Festival is back for its 20th edition, Iris20, running from Monday 12 to Sunday 18 October, with Cineworld Cardiff on Mary Ann Street as its main home. It's billed as the world's largest short film prize, and for that week Cardiff becomes the hub for LGBTQ+ storytelling, bringing together filmmakers and audiences from all over for award-winning cinema, live Q&As with the directors, red-carpet screenings, industry events, parties and awards. The festival is supported by The Michael Bishop Foundation, and there are accessible screenings available with captions and BSL interpretation.
Opening night on Monday 12 October leans heavily on Welsh talent, with four of the five films coming from Wales: Love Is Not An Emotion (dir. Will Collins), Cranogwen a Fi (dir. Mari Izzard), Wear I Am (dir. Vicky Morton), Try (dir. Lewis Bayley) and Behind The Scenes of the Pink Portraits 2026 (dir. Kole Parrott). Festival director Berwyn Rowlands describes the festival's USP as sharing the stories the mainstream ignore and giving audiences direct access to the talent who created them. Beyond the screenings, there's an Iris Industry Day for professionals on Thursday 15 October and an Iris Pop Up shop at St David's Dewi Sant stocking the printed catalogue. Parts of the programme also run at Chapter and the University of South Wales, and the whole thing continues online across the UK from 13 to 31 October.
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Tickets are sold individually: films at Chapter are £9, feature films at Cineworld £8, short film programmes £7, Opening Night £15, the Best British Awards £5, the Iris at 20 Celebration £15 and talks £2. There's a £1 discount per ticket for unwaged people and senior citizens, though it doesn't apply to talks. Cineworld Unlimited Card holders get free tickets to Iris Prize screenings at Cineworld Cardiff. If you're planning to see a lot, there's a Full Festival Pass for £160, a Weekend Pass (Friday 16 to Sunday 18 October) for £100, an Industry Pass for the Iris Industry Day on Thursday 15 October for £75, day passes from £25 to £45, and an Online Pass for £10.
