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New Chair Announced of the Largest LGBT+ Short Film Prize in the World

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Tom Abell has been confirmed as the new Chair of the Iris Prize. The announcement was made prior to the 2021 Iris Awards in Cardiff, by outgoing Chair Andrew Pierce, who leaves the role after almost seven years.

Accepting the role, Tom Abell paid tribute to Andrew Pierce for all of his work in securing major sponsorship and funding for the festival. Tom is a popular and familiar name within the British Film world, and was appointed the inaugural Iris Prize Fellowship in 2019, which honours those who have made a significant contribution to the LGBT+ film industry.

RELATED: 35 International LGBT Films Compete For the 15th Annual ‘Iris Prize’

Other appointees to the Board include: Suzy Davies and Alice Blanc.

They join Carol Jones, Christopher Racster, Heather Small, Katie White and Iris Prize Company Secretary, Grant Vidgen.

Abell, Iris Chair said, “It’s an honour and a privilege to be invited to become the new Chair of Iris Prize.  I wish to pay thanks to Andrew Pierce for his tireless dedication to the festival these past few years enabling it to grow and expand its activities over that time. I very much look forward to working with team Iris over the coming months in helping shape its future.”

Berwyn Rowlands, Festival Director said: “I’ve always been a huge admirer of Tom Abell and his commitment to making sure that audiences in the UK have access to LGBT+ stories. His experience and enthusiasm is well-known within the sector and Iris will be in a strong position because of his involvement. I can’t wait to work more closely with him.”

The main festival sponsors are: The Michael Bishop Foundation, Creative Wales, a Welsh Government agency that supports the creative sectors in Wales, the BFI awarding funds from The National Lottery, Ffilm Cymru Wales, Film 4, University of South Wales, Cardiff University, Co-op Respect, Bad Wolf, Gorilla Group, Peccadillo Pictures, Pinewood Studios, Attitude Magazine, Diva Magazine and The Ministry of Sound.  The festival also works in partnership with BAFTA Cymru, Pride Cymru and Stonewall Cymru.

The Iris Prize – the largest LGBT+ short film prize in the world is supported by The Michael Bishop Foundation. £30,000 is available to the winner to make a new LGBT+ themed film in the UK. In 2020, for the 5th time, Iris was identified as one of the “top 50 film festivals worth the entry fee” by Movie Maker Magazine. In 2017 the festival was promoted by BAFTA to A-list festival status, alongside Cannes and Sundance, by officially being recognised as a qualifying festival for the BAFTA awards.  

The Iris Prize LGBT+ Film Festival is a six-day celebration of LGBT+ film which takes place annually in Cardiff, Wales, UK.  The 2022 festival will be our 16th edition and much has changed since the first 3-day festival in 2007 with 1,500 admissions. Today the flagship festival is almost a week-long, attracts 11,000 admissions, and the online offer is a month long with a UK on-line audience of 84,000.  

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