Iris Prize Reveals Final 2025 Awards Winners In ‘Closing Credits’ Ceremony

Organisers of the Iris Prize LGBTQ+ Film Festival – celebrating global stories and Cardiff charm are thrilled to announce the final six awards from this year’s festival.  The awards were presented by Michael Karam this evening (27 November) at The Atrium Theatre, University of South Wales.   

The Closing Credits event was an opportunity to look back at the festival highlights and thank our partners and sponsors who made Iris 2025 such a fantastic success. It was also a chance to revisit the highlights of the festival and see some of the great work produced by students from the Faculty of Business and Creative Industries at USW. 

For the last time in 2025, the winners are: 

• Best Feature Film sponsored by Bad Wolf is Plainclothes, directed by Carmen Emmi  

An undercover agent assigned to lure and arrest gay men defies orders and pursues his target for a different reason. Carmen Emmi comes from a farming community in Syracuse, New York. Plainclothes is his first screenplay and was written after he graduated in film from the University of Southern California. The script was recognised in several competitions placing amongst the top 50 in the 2022 Academy Nicholl Fellowship in Screenwriting. Plainclothes is his directorial debut. 

• Best Performance in a Female Role in a Feature Film, sponsored by Diva Magazine, goes to Ronke Adekoluejo for the role of Isio in Dreamers, directed by Joy Gharoro-Akpojotor 

After two years living undocumented in the UK, Nigerian migrant Isio is caught and sent to the Hatchworth Removal Centre. She hopes for a fair asylum hearing and is convinced that if she follows the rules she will be released – although her new roommate Farah tells her she is making a naïve mistake. Isio finds herself falling for Farah. When Isio’s asylum claim is rejected, Farah suggests they escape together to give their love a chance. When events beyond their control threaten the promise of a new life together Isio realises the only way forward is to create her own playbook. Dreamers won the audience award at the 2025 GAZE Film Festival in Dublin. 

• Best Performance in a Male Role in a Feature Film sponsored by Attitude Magazine, goes to Russell Tovey for the role of Andrew in Plainclothes, directed by Carmen Emmi   

In this compelling honeytrap drama set in the 1990s Lucas (Tom Blyth) is a promising undercover agent assigned the role of ‘pretty policeman’ to lure and arrest gay men for cruising. When he meets married Andrew (Russell Tovey) his secret attraction to men brings tension and paranoia. Using lo-fi VHS footage at key moments the sense of unease is ramped up – signifying police surveillance as well as flashes of memory. The audience is kept on their toes wondering if Lucas will be able to handle the stress of his secret. 

• Iris Prize Youth Jury Award goes to Lily Drummond, for With Love, Lottie 

When a disabled teenager fears she will never find love, she enlists her friends to become her mentors in the unpredictable world of dating and discovers that love can come in unexpected ways and different forms. 

• Iris Prize Elder Jury Award (new for 2025!)  goes to Ava Grimshaw-Hall, for While We Still Have Time  

A documentary filmmaker embarks on a poignant journey to connect with her sperm donor father John, as he battles an aggressive cancer. Together, they explore their unique bond, seeking understanding and closure amidst life’s uncertainties. From the jury: “This incredibly natural documentary didn’t feel confined at all and was pure emotion.” 
 
The jury also wanted to recognise their highly commended choice, Cousin, directed by Alejandro Jato. “We felt this unusual story was handled bravely. It was thought-provoking exploration of sexuality from the perspective of a child, something that we rarely see.” 

• Co-op Audience Award goes to Two Black Boys in Paradise, directed by Baz Sells 

A movingly tender animation, based on Dean Atta’s eponymous poem, sees Edan (19) and Dula (18) on a journey of self-acceptance and love – for each other and themselves. 

Ben Jackson, producer of Two Black Boys in Paradise said: 

“We are incredibly honoured to have been part of this festival which celebrates and champions LBGTQ+ storytelling and ensures inclusivity with audience initiatives such as its captioned screening with BSL Q&A for deaf people and audio-described film options.  From the very start of this project, we wanted our film to reach as wide an audience as possible, and we will be forever grateful to Iris for helping us towards that goal.  To have won the 2025 Iris Prize Co-op Audience award which has been voted for by the festival-goers themselves has made the whole experience even more special.” 

Baz Sells, director of Two Black Boys in Paradise added:

“Even before finishing production on Two Black Boys in Paradise, we had hoped that our film would find a place amongst the Iris Prize programmes. For that to happen this year was a huge honour, and to now receive the Iris Prize, Co-op Audience Award is an absolute dream. We are privileged to become part of the Iris family and have been incredibly moved by the exceptional queer films that we’ve played alongside – we’d like to thank our fellow filmmakers and the Iris Prize audience and staff for making our experience so special. This award belongs to everyone who helped us take Dean Atta’s vital poem from the page to the screen.” 

Not only was this a celebration of the success of individual filmmakers, but the success of the 19^th edition of the Iris Prize LGBTQ+ Festival, as they look forward to the 20^th edition next October, which is promised to be even bigger and better. This year the festival had seven days of live events in Cardiff and a month of Iris Online, screening over 100 short films, and 13 feature films in the process.

Tom Abell, Chair of the Iris Prize LGBTQ+ Festival said: 

“This year’s festival broke a few records for us, for example, the in-person festival recorded 12,563 admissions, which is an increase of 14% on 2024.  We also recorded a 35% increase in traffic to our website in October with over 25,000 visitors in the month. We are certainly growing and reaching more people. 

“We are grateful for the support from Creative Wales, and this support has been instrumental in our success this year. Using the economic impact calculator for events developed with the support of the UK’s public sector funding bodies Event Impacts, our economic impact this year is estimated at £749,000 with 15 jobs supported in Cardiff Capital Region.” 

April Kelley, co-producer of Plainclothes was thrilled with the two awards: 

“The Iris Prize has always held a soft spot in my heart, and to be there in person this year meant the world to me. The Plainclothes screening was really special, and it was a joy to share it with the audience. Winning these awards is the perfect way to celebrate the end of an exciting year.” 

Berwyn Rowlands, Festival Director said: 

“I’m delighted with the improvements we made to the festival this year. The introduction of the Best British Day and the return of the Industry Day are two examples of changes to the festival programme. We also opened our first creche which we would like to expand in future years. The talks programme was extended to become daily and included two sessions through the medium of Welsh. Iris 2025 will be remembered as the year Iris became confident and caring in a world that doesn’t always feel safe for the LGBTQ+ community and our friends. As the closing credits play on the cinema screen Team Iris should be very proud, I know I am.” 

Last month, the 2025 Iris Prize supported by the Michael Bishop Foundation was presented to Alexander Farah, a queer Afghan-Canadian filmmaker, for One Day This Kid, and picking up the Best British Award Sponsored by Film4 was Blackout, directed by Chris Urch.  A full list of 2025 winners can be found here: https://irisprize.org/winners/

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.