Iris on the Move 2025

04 Feb 2025

19:00

Celebrating global stories and Cardiff charm, and now in its 10th year, Iris is proud to be taking Iris on the move, sharing authentic stories that the mainstream can sometimes be accused of ignoring. We have 7 films in two standout programmes including Teth a Welsh language Trans comedy and Blood Like Water a powerful and tragic story from Palestine.

Programme 1 – Best of Iris 2024

Running Time: 60 mins

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 Best BritishDir: 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 AwardDir: 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 PrizeDir: 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.

For more info about Iris Prize, visit: www.irisprize.org

Programme 2 – Heroes, Heartbeats, and Shorelines

Running Time: 70 mins

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 NightDir: 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 AwardDir: 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 PrizeDir: 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.

For more info about Iris Prize, visit: www.irisprize.org