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Iris Prize Reveals 2025 ‘On The Move’ UK Tour
During LGBT History Month, organisers of the Iris Prize LGBTQ+ Film Festival supported by the Michael Bishop Foundation will begin their annual grand tour, taking a bit of Cardiff charm to over 30 venues in the UK.
They are delighted to be visiting Chester (Storyhouse) and Maesteg (Town Hall) for the first time, and returning to Blackpool, Bangor, and Brighton, without forgetting Manchester, Aberystwyth and many more venues across the UK.
Iris on the Move is sponsored by S4C, and supported by Film Hub Wales as part of the BFI Film Audience Network (FAN), made possible by the National Lottery. During February, Iris will be visiting Pontypridd, Chester, Pontardawe, Abertillery, Bangor, Porthcawl, Maesteg, Belfast, Swansea, Caernarfon, Aberystwyth, London, Sheffield, Plymouth, Blackpool, Newcastle, Manchester, and Carmarthen, and will be on the road again in March and May.
Iris on the Move gives audiences the rare opportunity to engage directly with filmmakers, through Q+As, and festival staff, confirming Iris is about screening stories that the mainstream can sometimes ignore. There will be seven films in two standout programmes including Teth, a Welsh language trans comedy, directed by Peter Darney, and the winner of the 2024 Iris Prize, Dima Hamdan’s Blood Like Water, a powerful and tragic story from Palestine. These diverse selections of outstanding short films showcase unique stories from around the world.
Berwyn Rowlands, Festival Director said:
“2025 is a landmark year for Iris on the Move, sponsored by S4C. When we started taking the best of Iris on tour across the UK we had 10 or so venues taking part. Today I’m delighted to see we are in 30 locations and the list continues to grow.
“We should never underestimate the importance of making LGBTQ+ stories accessible to local audiences, and I also believe that sharing some Cardiff charm with the rest of the UK is also a good thing!
“The tour continues the important work of the main festival and when possible, film makers will be attending screenings to take part in question-and-answer sessions. Tom Paul Martin will be visiting Chester, Blackpool, Manchester and Liverpool with his film Where Are All The Gay Superheroes and Leo Drayton will be visiting Pontardawe, Bangor, Aberystwyth and Carmarthen with Teth.
“We are also grateful to S4C who are once again the title sponsor for the tour. Their generous support has allowed the tour to more than double in size and this year we will be visiting 10 venues in Wales and just over 30 across the UK.”
Programme 1 – Best of Iris 2024
Running Time: 60 mins – rated 15

A showcase of the standout films from Iris 2024, featuring award-winning stories that explore love, identity, and the human experience.
Sister Wives (15) – Winner: 2024 Iris Prize Best British & Co-op audience award
Dir: Louisa Connolly-Burnham. UK, 2024. 28 mins
Two sister wives married to the same man start to develop feelings for each other.
JIA (12A) – Winner: 2024 Youth Jury Award
Dir: Vee Shi. Australia. 2023. 15 mins
A grieving Chinese mother travels to Australia and embarks on a road trip with Eric, to remember her late son. Ming’s conservative values are tested when she learns Eric was her son’s lover.
Blood Like Water (15) – Winner: 2024 Iris Prize | Dir: Dima Hamdan | Palestine. 2023. 14 mins
Shadi embarks on a secret adventure, and accidentally drags his family into a trap where they only have two choices; either collaborate with the Israeli occupation or be shamed and humiliated by their own people.
Programme 2 – Heroes, Heartbeats, and Shorelines
Running Time: 70 mins – rated 15

A dynamic collection of films that explores identity, transformation, and the unexpected connections that shape us, from superheroes to shorelines.
Teth (15) – 2024 Opening Night | Dir: Peter Darney | Wales. 2024. 12 mins
Following surgery, Ioan and his father adapt to their new relationship as father and son, that is until the dog mistakes a nipple for a chew toy.
Where Are All the Gay Superheroes (15) – 2024 Opening Night | Dir: Tom Paul Martin | UK. 2023. 15 mins
An LGBTQIA+ crowd-pleaser, combining elements of sci-fi, drama and comedy. Professional superheroes Sterling and Meridian have just finished saving the day (again) when suddenly, they find themselves in a rare moment alone. The suits come off, but when old tensions and old enemies return, our “heroes” learn the dark truth about who they are underneath.
Façade (12A) – Winner: 2024 Micro Short Award | Dir: Sophia Vi | UK. 2024. 2 mins
Following gender affirming facial feminisation surgery, a transgender woman contemplates what it means to be alive using the words of William Shakespeare’s most famous speech – ‘To be or not to be…’
Boys in the Water (15) – Highly Commended, 2024 Iris Prize | Dir: Pawel Thomas Larue | France. 2023. 39 mins
End of summer on the Breton coast. Oscar invites his group of friends to spend a week’s vacation at his grandparent’s house. He hasn’t been back to his childhood home for years – not since he came out as a trans boy. On the beach, the gang meets Malo, a handsome local guy, also trans. The story is about their meeting, which will turn everything upside down.
Iris On the Move 2025 will be visiting the following cities and towns:
- Pontypridd (Y Muni) Saturday, 1 February
- Chester (Storyhouse) Sunday 2 February – Q&A with Tom Paul Martin (Director of Where Are All the Gay Superheroes?)
- Pontardawe (Arts Centre) Tuesday, 4 February – Q&A with Leo Drayton (Writer and actor, Teth)
- Abertillery (The Met Theatre) Wednesday, 5 February
- Bangor (Pontio) Thursday, 6 February – Q&A with Leo Drayton (Writer and actor, Teth)
- Porthcawl (Awel y Mȏr Community Centre) Saturday, 8 February
- Maesteg (Maesteg Town Hall) Saturday, 8 February
- Belfast (Queen’s Film Theatre) Sunday, 9 February
- Swansea (Taliesin Arts Centre) Monday, 10 February
- Caernarfon (Galeri) Tuesday, 11 February
- Aberystwyth (Arts Centre) Saturday, 15 February – Q&A with Leo Drayton (Writer and actor, Teth)
- London (Actone Cinema) Sunday, 16 February
- Belfast (Queen’s Film Theatre) Saturday, 22 February
- Sheffield (Showroom Work Station) Saturday, 22 February
- Plymouth (Arts University) Tuesday, 25 February
- Blackpool (Aunty Social) Tuesday, 25 February – Q&A with Tom Paul Martin (Director of Where Are All the Gay Superheroes?)
- Newcastle (Tyneside Cinema) Wednesday, 26 February
- Manchester (HOME) Thursday, 27 February
- Carmarthen (Yr Egin) Thursday, 27 February – Q&A with Leo Drayton (Writer and actor, Teth)
- Manchester (HOME) Sunday, 2 March – Q&A with Tom Paul Martin (Director of Where Are All the Gay Superheroes?)
- Plymouth (Arts University) Thursday, 6 March
- Totnes (Totnes Cinema) Monday, 10 March
- Falmouth (The Poly) Wednesday, 12 March
- Exeter (Phoenix) Saturday, 15 March
- Totnes (Totnes Cinema) Monday, 17 March
- Falmouth (The Poly) Wednesday, 26 March
- Sheffield (Showroom Work Station) Monday, 31 March
- Brighton (The Actors’ Theatre) Saturday, 10 May
- Brighton (The Actors’ Theatre) Sunday, 11 May
- Brighton (The Actors’ Theatre) Saturday, 23 May
- Brighton (The Actors’ Theatre) Sunday, 24 May
- Brighton (The Actors’ Theatre) Monday, 25 May
If you would like your local cinema to get involved, please contact Iris at Adnan@irisprize.org
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