LGBTQ+ film festival begins UK tour

The Iris Prize LGBTQ+ Film Festival, a celebrated seven-day annual event in Cardiff, will be taking their programme “on the move” in their annual tour across the UK.

Each year, the Iris Prize LGBTQ+ festival – known for offering the world’s largest LGBTQ+ short film prize – choose a selection of award-winning short films to show at a range of venues.

The tour began this February, during LGBT History Month, with organisers taking “Cardiff charm” to over 30 venues in the UK.

Standout programmes

The 2025 ‘Iris On the Move’ will feature two standout programmes, including Teth, a Welsh-language trans comedy directed by Peter Darney, and Blood Like Water, the 2024 Iris Prize winner by Dima Hamdan, which tells a tragic and compelling story from Palestine.

The tour promises to give audiences the rare opportunity to engage directly with filmmakers, through Q+As, and festival staff.

Among the filmmakers taking part are Tom Paul Martin, visiting Chester, Blackpool, Manchester, and Liverpool with his film Where Are All The Gay Superheroes?, and Leo Drayton, who is travelling to Pontardawe, Bangor, Aberystwyth, and Carmarthen to present Teth.

Festival Director Berwyn Rowlands said: “2025 is a landmark year for Iris on the Move, sponsored by S4C. When we first started taking Iris on tour, we had around 10 venues. Today, I’m delighted to see we are in 30 locations, with the list continuing to grow.”

He continued: “We should never underestimate the importance of making LGBTQ+ stories accessible to local audiences. Sharing a little Cardiff charm with the rest of the UK is also a good thing!

“The tour continues the important work of the main festival, and whenever possible, filmmakers will attend screenings to take part in Q&A sessions”, he said.

Creators have said that thanks to S4C’s sponsorship, the tour has more than doubled in size, covering 10 venues in Wales and over 30 across the UK.

Throughout February, Iris on the Move will make stops in Pontypridd, Chester, Pontardawe, Abertillery, Bangor, Porthcawl, Maesteg, Belfast, Swansea, Caernarfon, Aberystwyth, London, Sheffield, Plymouth, Blackpool, Newcastle, Manchester, and Carmarthen.

The tour will continue in March and May, with additional screenings planned.

Find out more here.