This year's guests range from exciting new filmmakers presenting some of their first work to established names returning to Cardiff. Andrew Haigh and Tom Cullen join us for Weekend, Donna Deitch marks the 40th anniversary of Desert Hearts, former Iris Prize winner Daniel Ribeiro returns with I Am Going To Miss You, and Rhys Marc Jones and Tom Cullen join us for Black Church Bay.
Our short film programmes bring another extraordinary group of creative talent to Cardiff, with filmmakers representing the Iris Prize international competition, Best British and our inaugural Student Award joining audiences throughout the week. Beyond the screenings, our Industry Day welcomes professionals from Film4, Bad Wolf, BBC Writers, BFI NETWORK, Picturehouse, BFI Player and Peccadillo Pictures, alongside Konrad Kay and Mickey Down, creators of Industry.
You'll also meet the people behind our Community, Education and Micro Short programmes, alongside this year's jury members, speakers and Opening Night guests & Filmmakers. Whether you're joining us for one film or spending the whole week at Iris, keep an eye out for the names below – you might find yourself watching a film with the person who made it sitting just a few rows away.
Who's joining us at Iris 2026?
Iris Prize
Meet some of the filmmakers behind the international shorts competing for the £40,000 Iris Prize.- Kamila Boichenko — Black Shawl
- Jan-Dirk Bouw — Breaking Walls
- Said Zagha — Coyotes
- Mohammad Awad — Inheritance
- Matteo Giampetruzzi — La moto / The Motorcycle
- Caio Amado Soares — Mishaps in Spacetime
- Jacob McKee — My Dear Watson
- Iniyavan Elumalai — Pakka
- David Mc Donagh — Queen Lizzy
- Anushay Sheikh — Same Time Next Year?
- Matthew Sorgie — So Be It
- Niamh Barry — Something In The Air
- Ashley Panton — The Hold
- Destinee Stewart — The Inheritance
- Michael Borrelli + Peter McCann — The Last Day of Byron Bray
- Mariana Régis Biurrum — Uniformed
- Daniel Neiden — WHALE 52 – Suite For Man, Boy, And Whale
- JL Perkel — XY
Best British
The filmmakers and creative talent representing this year's 15 Best British shortlisted films.- Nicole Pott + Thomas Sargeant — Between Breath & Silence
- Maya Yoncali + Andy — Bluebird
- Lyndon Henley Hanrahan + Castor Sprado — Every Time I See A Cock I Go Funny
- Jojo Bossman — Hugged People, Hug People
- Steven Fraser — Keith
- Fox Fisher — Life of Kai
- Luís Hindman — MAGID / ZAFAR
- Mariana Leal — Making It Fit
- Steven Kunis + Shaun McKenna — Meet Frankie
- Darius Shu — Molly
- Holly Eysselinck — None Of Us?
- Jody Wiltshire — Notice Me
- Alia Ramna — Please Mistress
- Alexandra Agoshkova + Sasha Alexis — Requirements
- Simon Brooke — Yellow Bucket
Student Award
Meet the filmmakers joining us for the inaugural Iris Prize Student Award.- Amay Mehrishi — Abracadabra
- Jessie Williams — Chaser
- Puzhen Zhang — Deep End
- Siân A. Williams — Dirty Parrots
- Wyatt Carson — Mis-Angel
- Jack Patterson — The Bet
Feature Films
From new features to anniversary screenings, these filmmakers, actors and special guests will be joining us to discuss their work.- Rhys Marc Jones + Tom Cullen — Black Church Bay
- Kieron Moore — Blue Film
- Lloyd Eyre-Morgan + Paul Mortlock — Chatlines
- Donna Deitch — Desert Hearts
- Daniel Ribeiro — I Am Going To Miss You
- Cara Holmes — Lesbian Lines
- Louise Walsh — Lesbian Lines contributor, joining Cara Holmes for the discussion with Norena Shopland
- Gabriel Ordóñez — Sunday Boyfriends
- Roberto Proia — The Boy with Pink Pants
- Andrew Haigh + Tom Cullen — Weekend
Industry Day
Our Industry Day brings some of film and television's leading organisations and creative talent together in Cardiff.- Lisa Baker — Madfabulous
- Stefan D’Bart — Boiling Point
- Alice Cabañas — BFI NETWORK
- Celi Fowler — BBC Writers
- Alice Whittemore — Film4
- Emma Obank — Bad Wolf
- Tom Abell — Peccadillo Pictures
- Joe Ursell — BFI Player
- Alice Werdine — Picturehouse
- Konrad Kay
- Mickey Down
Jury
- Andy Shilton
- Christopher Racster
- Ella Gauci
- Eric Ollerenshaw
- Erykah Cameron
- Rebecca Hardy
- Ryan Rasmussen
- Sara Peacock
- Chris Urch
- Elena Schmitz
- Guto Rhun
- Neil Moffatt
- Tim Highsted
- Katie White
- Ryan Rowe
- Paul Davies (Stumpy)
Opening Night
- Lewis Bayley
- Vicky Morton
- Will Collins
Community Shorts
- Rachel-Ann Osborn — Access Denied
- Nathaniel Hall — Acting Up! – Forty Years of HIV Activism
- Belonging and The Scene
- Ben Clery-Hall — Before The Threesome
- It's My Shout — Different Now
- Andrew Creak — Over The Rainbow
- Tomislav + Noa — Samodiva (Kissing Choir)
- She/Hero
- Jay Manari — The Filmmaker
- Steve Melia — Uncanny Waters
Education Shorts
- Jody Tozer — Bampi's Soup
- Kiss Me Thru The Phone
Micro Shorts
- Harri Shanahan — Gossip/Clecs
- Dan Shaw — I'm Shy
- Erin Gilbertson — Night And Day
- Cordelia Angel Clarke — Orifice
- See Both Sides
- Lauren Fry — She Said
- Matias Rodriguez Sfeir — Tetris
- Stephen McGowan — Twin Mirror
Talks
Joining us for conversations throughout Iris20:- Dan Bowen
- Leo Drayton
- Liam J. Edwards
- Priya Hall
Come and meet them in Cardiff
With filmmakers introducing their films, Q&As throughout the week, talks, Industry Day and plenty of opportunities to continue the conversation afterwards, Iris20 is about experiencing LGBTQ+ cinema with the people who make it.Join us in Cardiff from 12–18 October 2026 and be part of our 20th anniversary celebrations.
