Iris On The Move To Kickstart Festival’s 20th Anniversary Celebrations

The 20^th anniversary year of the Iris Prize LGBTQ+ Film Festival – celebrating global stories and Cardiff charm will be getting underway with the annual showcasing tour during February and March 2026, taking a little drop of Cardiff charm and global talent to over 25 venues in Wales and the UK.

At the beginning of LGBT History Month, which focuses this year on science and innovation, it is fitting that one of the films chosen for Iris on the Move in association with Diva Film Festival is a short film about the pioneering Jackie Forster. Emily Sargent’s film Jackie focuses on the woman whose underground donor sperm operation helped the first queer women to have children.

Also showing is Y Tolldy, a Welsh language, S4C-commissioned short horror film directed by Dan Thomas and starring Al Parr, which had its world premiere in Cardiff during the 2025 Iris Prize LGBTQ+ FIlm Festival in October.

Iris on the Move, in association with the Diva Film Festival, is delighted to be visiting two new venues in the 11^th year of the travelling mini-festival. Iris is thrilled to be visiting The Arzner in London for the first time on 31 January, and also Filmhouse in Edinburgh on 3 March.

Iris on the Move is sponsored by S4C, and during February and March, will be visiting London, Pontardawe, Pontypridd, Sheffield, Ystradgynlais, Chester, Maesteg, Manchester, Cardiff, Plymouth, Blackpool, Swansea, Mold, Bangor, Aberystwyth, Newcastle, Edinburgh, Caernarfon, Exeter, and Wrexham.

The full tour calendar is available here: 2026 Tour Calendar – Iris Prize

Iris on the Move gives audiences the rare opportunity to engage directly with filmmakers, through Q+As, and festival staff, with Festival Director Berwyn Rowlands visiting most venues, confirming Iris is about screening stories that the mainstream can sometimes ignore.

Some of the talent taking part in the Q&As include: Emily Sargent (Director, Jackie); Al Parr (Writer and Actor, Y Tolldy) in Galeri, Caernafon, where he used to work: Dan Thomas (Director, Y Tolldy): Sarah Breese (Producer, Y Tolldy); Rachel Dax (3000 Lesbians Go To York) in Chester; and Aidan Biddiscombe (Costume Designer on Never Never Never), in Pontardawe, where he went to school.

There will be six short films in two standout programmes, as well as Rachel Dax’s feature documentary, 3000 Lesbians Go To York, on tour, the winner of the 2025 Iris Prize, One Day This Kid, directed by Alexander Farah, a powerful story of a first-generation Afghan Canadian man. These diverse selections of outstanding short films showcase unique stories from around the world.

Berwyn Rowlands, Festival Director said:

“Taking the best of Iris on the Move has become a core element of our work in sharing LGBTQ+ stories. Today I’m thrilled that the number of locations we will be visiting has increased to 25 and it is still growing, thanks to the sponsorship by S4C. We are visiting Scotland, Northern Ireland, England and Wales and most of the screenings will be introduced and some will also have guest Q+A’s after the screenings.

“However, to celebrate our 20^th year we are also increasing our Iris On the Move offer and for two months starting in February we will be making some of our popular Iris Productions available online. So, if you live in the UK, you can organize your own Iris screenings at home.”

Programme 1: Iris 2025: Best Bits (15) | 65 mins 

Y Tolldy. Dir. Dan Thomas. Wales, UK. 10 mins.  

When Emyr visits his hometown with his partner, a decade after vowing not to return, a chance meeting with his old school bully turns into a terrifying battle against forces they cannot explain. 

Blackout. Dir. Chris Urch. UK. 15 mins. (Best British Winner) 

When a young man living in a high-rise is disturbed by domestic violence in the flat next door, he comes to realise that violence isn’t always on the outside – sometimes it’s with us all along.  

One Day This Kid. Dir. Alexander Farah. Canada. 18 mins. (Iris Prize Winner) 

As told by filmmaker Alexander Farah through a deftly composed array of small yet pivotal moments, a first-generation Afghan Canadian man takes steps toward establishing an identity of his own while always conscious of his father’s shadow. 

Never Never Never. Dir. John Sheedy. UK/ Australia. 18 mins. 

A poignant and heartwarming story set in a Welsh fishing village. Henrick (Ché) and Arwyn (Iwan) share a bond that transcends friendship, filled with unspoken longing and love. Henrick’s love for Shirley Bassey’s music is his way to overcome the conservative views of their community.  The film explores the struggles of Henrick and Arwyn as they navigate their feelings for each other in a society that may not fully accept them.  This is the thirteenth film made by a winner of the Iris Prize.  

Programme 2: When Love Broke the Law (12A) | 60 mins  

Two People Exchanging Saliva. Dir. Natalie Musteata and Alexandre Singh, France/USA, 36 mins. 

In a farcical world where kissing is punishable by death, a personal shopper threatens the status quo. 

Jackie. Dir. Emily Sargent. Scotland, UK, 2025. 20 minutes. 

A short documentary about the life of Jackie Forster, a groundbreaking, outrageous — and largely unknown — LGBT+ rights campaigner whose underground donor sperm operation helped the first queer women to have children. This is the third film to be made with the Iris Prize Documentary Film Finance Fund sponsored by OUTFlix. 

Feature film, presented in partnership with DIVA Film Festival

3000 Lesbians Go To York. Dir. Rachel Dax. UK. 2025. 68 mins

3000 Lesbians Go To York tells the extraordinary true story of how a lesbian bookseller (who also happened to be trans) created the largest gathering of LGBTQ+ women in the UK, and how from 1998 to 2008, the quietly conservative city of York became the unlikely centre of all things lesbian! For one decade, thousands of women flocked to the York Lesbian Arts Festival each autumn, to meet their favourite authors, buy books, hear top female artists live on stage and dance the night away at the ‘disco of a thousand lesbians’. This documentary takes you through the festival programmes and on a tour of lesbian culture.

All Iris on the Move (Sponsored by S4C) programme information can be found HERE

Full details about Iris can be found here:  www.irisprize.org    

Iris Prize will return in 2026 for the 20^th edition on Monday 12 October until Sunday 18 October