The shortlist for the inaugural Iris Prize Student Short Film Award 2026 is announced with Tom Cullen joining as jury chair

Tuesday 25 August 2026

• A new award for film students has been launched to celebrate the 20th anniversary of the Iris Prize 

• The Iris Prize Student Short Film Award is open to any students currently enrolled in a film, media, or related course (UK & Ireland)  

• Each of the six shortlisted films will be shown during Iris Week and are eligible for the Iris Prize Co-op Audience Award via Iris Online  

• Watch the films on Wednesday 14 October at 6:30pm and the winner will be announced 5pm on Thursday 15 October, after Industry Day  

•  “The quality of the shortlisted films is quite amazing, and confirms the future of storytelling via film is in safe hands.”  Tom Cullen, jury chair  

Organisers of the Iris Prize LGBTQ+ Film Festival are excited to announce the shortlist of six films competing for the first ever Iris Prize Student Short Film Award. We are introducing a new category for the festival, targeting UK and Ireland based students as part of our 20th anniversary year. The winner will be announced on 15 October, after Industry Day.

We are also excited that the award-winning Welsh actor, writer and director Tom Cullen has agreed to chair the jury for this new and important award. Tom is currently filming on the Amazon series Life Is Strange, having recently wrapped on the screen adaptation of Walk The Blue Fields, starring opposite Emily Blunt, Andrew Scott and Ciarán Hinds. He has also recently appeared in House of the Dragon and is due to star opposite Luke Evans in series The Party.

Tom Cullen, Chair of the Iris Prize Student Short Film Award Jury said: “The quality of the shortlisted films is quite amazing, and confirms the future of storytelling via film is in safe hands. “This has been my first involvement with the Iris Prize and it has been an absolute pleasure to view theses student shorts with my fellow jury members. “Congratulations to all six shortlisted films, you are all winners to me.”

Iris Prize Festival Director Berwyn Rowlands said: “We are thrilled to announce the shortlist for this new award, especially for our 20th anniversary edition. We have alumni from some prestigious films schools, such as the London Film School, the National Film and Television School (NFTS), and the Royal College of Art. “It is an absolute pleasure to welcome Tom Cullen as our Jury Chair for the inaugural student awards, and also extend our thanks to Emma Obank from Bad Wolf, and Ronke Adekoluejo – winner of the 2025 Best Performance in a Female Role award for Dreamers – for joining him.”

Here are the shortlisted films for the Iris Prize Student Short Film Award:

Abracadabra
Dir. Amay Mehrishi. UK. 2026. 20 mins
On a school bus ride that feels endless & fleeting, 12-year-old Agastya wrestles with identity and unspoken emotions when his best friend chooses to sit elsewhere. Set entirely during one afternoon, Abracadabra is a story about friendship, identity, & the invisible ways children absorb the world’s expectations.  

Chaser 
Dir. Jesse Williams. UK. 2026. 10 mins. 
Chaser is a relentless thriller/drama, fearlessly delving into the anxieties and dangers of gender, nightlife & dating culture, told from the passionate perspective of a trans woman. 

Deep End
Dir. Puzhen Zhang. UK. 2026. 8 mins. 
In early-2000s China, a twelve-year-old girl joins a summer swimming class determined to reach the deep end — but she just can’t let go of her float. Through an unexpected bond with a fearless classmate, she learns to overcome her fear of water — and experiences her first queer awakening. 

Dirty Parrots
Dir. Siân A. Williams. UK. 2026. 13 mins.
Dirty Parrots is an experimental documentary in which filmmaker Siân A. Williams collaborates with performance artist E.M. Parry to explore landscape, trans identity, memory, and performance. Blending documentary interview with improvised performance, the film reclaims rural landscape through critical fabulation, honouring queer working-class histories of resistance at Cornwall’s Poldice Mine.  

Mis-Angel
Dir. Wyatt Carson. UK. 2025. 6 mins.
Mis-Angel is a love story between two people who will never meet. A transgender girl explores an overlap of gender and sexual fantasy as she recalls a brief interaction with a stranger at a bus stop.

The Bet 
Dir. Jack Patterson. UK. 2026. 7 mins. 
On a stormy night, James finally builds up the courage to come out to his religious parents, only for their reaction to take a completely unexpected turn. The Bet is a heartfelt coming-out story with a sharp comedic twist, exploring love, miscommunication, and the chaos of unconditional support.  

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

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

The main festival sponsors are: The Michael Bishop Foundation; Creative Wales, a Welsh Government agency that supports the creative sectors in Wales; the BFI awarding funds from The National Lottery; Ffilm Cymru Wales; Film4; University of South Wales; Co-op Respect; Ymddiried – Media Grants Cymru, Bad Wolf; S4C; Gorilla Group; Pinewood Studios; Attitude Magazine; Diva Magazine; Movie Marker; The Ministry Venues and Transport for Wales. The festival also works in partnership with British Council Wales,  BAFTA Cymru, Pride Cymru, and Visit Cardiff.