Award winning films available for free

The Iris Prize has released 13 new short films on their ground-breaking LGBT film library. Launched in 2016 the film library now has 30 short films which have been produced by community groups and secondary school pupils from all over Wales. Available free of charge on YouTube, the films are all unique telling a different story using comedy as well as hard hitting drama to communicate their message. Côr Blimey by South Wales Gay Men's Chorus, which covers the choir's successful journey to compete at the Cornwall International Male Choral Festival was also a winner at the 2018 Iris Prize Community and Short Film Awards. The award-winning film is one of 7 made by community groups and organizations in Wales, the remaining films were made by The Office of National Statistics, Wales Audit Office, RainbowBiz, Shelter Cymru, Swansea People First and Glitter Cymru. Commenting on Côr Blimey the jury said: "Côr Blimey was the whole package - re-watchable, engaging, and enjoyable for a very wide audience. It could even change attitudes." PLUS was made by pupils from Stanwell School in Penarth was voted the winner in the education category of the 2018 Iris Prize Community and Education Short Film Awards. The film asks the question “what exactly does the “+” in “LGBT+” mean? Lucas a pupil at Stanwell takes the viewer on a journey through his school identifying the not-so-visible sexualities, and the stigmas surrounding these minorities. The education jury commented on PLUS said: "We were impressed with the originality of the content and the energy in its delivery. It brought out details of members of the community that are not usually covered and the use of humour was very effective." The new collection includes a further five short films made by pupils from Ysgol Dyffryn Aman, Ammanford; Ysgol Tryfan, Bangor; Eastern High School, Cardiff; Lewis School Pengam, Bargoed and Ysgol Gyfun Emlyn, Castell Newydd Emlyn. Andrew Pierce, Iris Prize Chair, commented: “Community groups and school pupils across Wales have been busy over the past 12 months discussing films, putting on mini Iris film festivals and producing their own short films. I’m delighted that 13 new short films will be available to view on our You Tube channel. The stories and themes cover everything from music through to religion and homophobia, which continues to be a problem for LGBT people.” The films can be viewed by visiting the Iris Prize You Tube channel.