Iris Prize LGBTQ+ Film Festival

The principal international Iris Prize, supported by the Michael Bishop Foundation, provides £40,000 to make a new LGBTQ+ short film in the UK. The latest published award terms also invite its winner to the following international jury. The Best British Short winner receives a Pinewood Studios screening and reception and an invitation to the following Best British jury; shortlisted British films receive a licence fee for Film4 broadcast and Channel 4 streaming. Other awards recognise Best Feature, performances in male and female roles and beyond the binary in British shorts and features, the Co-op Audience Award, and youth and elders jury choices. The Community and Education awards each provide £250 towards further filmmaking; the Micro Short award provides £100. The Student Award offers attendance at the following festival and a place on its student jury with travel and accommodation covered. These are the latest published award arrangements, rather than a separately announced 2027 prize schedule.

The latest published detailed submission regulations concern the 2026 competition, for which entries are closed. Submissions reopen on 11 January 2027; the organiser has not yet published the next deadlines or a complete replacement set of 2027 regulations. The following summarises the published 2026 terms. Entries must concern or be of significant interest to LGBTQ+ audiences and are submitted through FilmFreeway in each desired category. Best British entries are also considered automatically for the international Iris Prize. International and Best British shorts run no longer than 39 minutes and, under the 2026 rules, are completed between 1 June 2024 and 1 June 2026. Animation and documentary are eligible. Previous online availability or television broadcast does not by itself exclude a film. Films shortlisted for Iris 2025 are ineligible for the 2026 competition. Best British directors must be UK citizens or have lived in the UK for at least three consecutive years before submission. The international shortlist comprises 35 shorts: 20 nominated by partner festivals and 15 chosen from open submissions. The Best British shortlist comprises 15 shorts: five partner nominations and ten open submissions. Features run at least 40 minutes and compete for feature and performance awards, not the short-film Iris Prize. UK community-group and education entries run no longer than 20 minutes; community entries must benefit the public, their members or a shared interest and cannot come from commercial businesses. Education entries come from UK schools, colleges, education establishments or youth groups; the detailed education rules require at least 90% of those making the film to be under 20. UK micro-shorts run no longer than two minutes. These outreach entries must be completed within two years of the submission deadline. The student category accepts LGBTQ+ films up to 20 minutes, completed after 1 January 2025, from students on film, media or related courses in the UK or Ireland and graduates from the preceding 12 months. A student pre-selection jury and the programming team select up to six films. The student submission fee is waived for 2026 and 2027. Alumni of previous Iris screenings can request a full submission-fee waiver. Preview submissions use online screeners. In-person exhibition requires a DCP; short-film selections also supply a digital file, preferably H.264 with stereo sound in a .mov or MPEG container. Features require a DCP and an online-viewing file if requested. Exhibition supports 1.85 flat and 2.35 scope. Works in languages other than English or Welsh need exhibition subtitles; English subtitles are preferred for screeners, and burnt-in subtitles are preferred for exhibition. Best British films also need a high-quality source for Channel 4 AS-11 broadcast masters. Best British acceptance requires agreement to Film4 broadcast and Channel 4 streaming for one year, with the required assets supplied by 17 July 2026. The filmmaker assigns exclusive UK and Ireland linear, internet, on-demand streaming, temporary download and sideload rights for that year. Other online screenings must exclude the UK and Ireland; theatrical, physical-media, transactional video-on-demand and download-to-own distribution remain permitted. Entrants certify all copyright permissions for UK public exhibition. Submission grants The Festivals Company Limited a non-exclusive licence for selected theatrical and UK-geolocked online festival screenings and promotional excerpts up to two minutes in all media without a time limit. Submission also permits inclusion in international Best of Iris packages and education/outreach programmes, with exceptions available on request. The published 2026 online competition runs 13–31 October. Updated short-film versions are not accepted after the deadline. The organiser may vary the programme; selection and jury decisions are final. It accepts no liability for exhibition materials lost or damaged in transit, encourages shortlisted entrants to attend and seeks to provide accommodation. The laws of England and Wales govern the terms.