Iris Prize partners with BFI for Love Season

LOVE Bites – LGBT short films from the Iris Prize Archive We are delighted to make available free of charge 6 short films from the Iris Prize archive to celebrate the BFI LOVE season. Film and television’s most seductive illusion is to immerse us in the intensity and passion of other peoples lives and loves. The best love stories have a timeless quality, but any history of romance on screen must reflect the transformations wrought by the sexual revolution and the progress of LGBT rights, which fundamentally question and update our notions of romantic love. The key themes covered in these LGBT titles include: Coming out, Forbidden LOVE and Illegal LOVE All six have been classified by the BBFC and are now available as digital files and DCPs to download. They are also available on DVDs. The films can be screened as individual titles before feature films or programmed as a short film package or as part of a mix of short films. The programme includes:   Aban + Khorshid (12A) Dir: Darwin Serink Country: USA Time: 14m Year: 2014 Inspired by true events, Aban + Khorshid is an intimate portrait of two lovers, glimpsing into the world in which they met, moments before their execution for being gay.   Bald Guy (Skallamann) (12A) Dir: Maria Bock Country: Norway Time: 13m Year: 2011 A story about a young man's quest for love and acceptance, all in a lively musical film about being yourself and loving whoever you want. This is a film about forbidden and boundless love and the risk of losing everything when your choice is head on with the morally accepted.   Barrio Boy (12A) Dir: Dennis Shinners Country: USA Time: 8m Year: 2014 Haircuts, hip-hop and homo-sex on the down-low... A Latino barber secretly falls in love with a handsome Irish stranger over the course of a haircut during a hot and sweaty summer afternoon in a macho Brooklyn hood.   Danïel (U) Dir: Vincent Fitz-Jim Country: Netherlands Time: 9m Year: 2012 Daniël is a poetic 8 minute film that tells the coming-of-age story of a teenage boy who finds first love on a summer day. The boy meets a girl but finds himself attracted to the girl’s brother. A tender love story evolves. Like in a dream the reality of the surroundings disappears, leaving the mysterious beauty of a sweet memory.   It’s Consuming Me (15) Dir: Kai Stanicke Country: Germany Time: 4m Year: 2012 I can’t move on, I wish I could. But I’m caught in the thought of what could have been, losing my grip on reality.   Private Life (PG) Dir: Abbe Robinson Country: United Kingdom Time: 17m Year: 2006 Yorkshire, England 1952 Ruth Ackroyd leaves the monotony of her work at her father's textile mill on a Friday evening and secretly takes the train to Manchester. There, she meets a man on the platform, but all is not what it seems. To book please contact: Jamie@irisprize.org