Film Fund for new Wales-based LGBTQ+ filmmakers to tell their stories, opens today
- Wales-based talent can now apply to the Iris Prize Documentary Film Finance Fund sponsored by OUTflix and University of South Wales
- Apply now for a chance to see your film premiere on the opening night of the 20th Iris Prize LGBTQ+ Film Festival in October 2026
- “If you have a story, however ordinary or spectacular, we want to hear from you. Team Iris is ready and excited to work with your story to create something special.” Berwyn Rowlands, Iris Prize Festival Director
April 14, 2025 – Today, the organisers of the Iris Prize LGBTQ+ Film Festival announced that the Iris Prize Documentary Film Finance Fund had opened for applications. This new iteration of the fund is open to new talent based in Wales and is sponsored by LGBTQ+ streaming service OUTflix and University of South Wales.
The Iris Prize Documentary Film Finance Fund team is excited to present its second iteration, aimed at promoting and supporting emerging documentary and factual film talent from Wales. This initiative is designed to nurture local talent and bring compelling UK stories to a global audience through OUTtv’s extensive network.
The first iteration of the fund has supported three projects championing underrepresented voices in the production of three 20 minute documentary films: Some Girls Hate Dresses (2022) explores black filmmaker Mena Fombo’s experiences as a tom boy from Nigerian heritage growing up in the UK and rejecting the images of black women from the US; Bender Defenders (2023) celebrates the queer Muy-Thai club that non-binary filmmaker Ira Putliova is a member of in east London; and the third project Untitled (2024) tells the story of Jackie Forster – the founder of the lesbian magazine Sappho, and will be made by Emily Sargent.
Berwyn Rowlands, Festival Director, said: “I’ve been talking a lot recently about the beautiful ordinary, the stories that the mainstream sometimes ignores. In 2026 we will be celebrating the 20th anniversary of the Iris Prize, and more specifically our role in sharing LGBTQ+ stories. This documentary Film Finance Fund still gets me excited knowing we have another opportunity to share another story, making the invisible visible.
“If you have a story, however ordinary or spectacular, we want to hear from you. Team Iris is ready and excited to work with your story to create something special.”
The Iris Prize Documentary Film Finance Fund will award a single documentary film proposal a production grant of up to £20,000 for a 20-minute film. The subject of the chosen film must be British and LGBTQ+. Priority will be given to stories from or about communities traditionally underrepresented in UK productions. The Iris Prize team will work with the originator of the idea to produce the film. The finished film will be premiered at the 20th edition of the Iris Prize LGBTQ+ Film Festival in October 2026, and after a theatrical window, it will be shown on OUTtv’s platforms worldwide.
Philip Webb, Chief Operating Officer of OUTtv said: “Over the past few years, the Iris Prize Documentary Film Finance Fund has supported UK-based LGBTQ+ filmmakers, highlighting truly impactful stories. As a founding partner, we are proud to once again be involved in the Fund by subsidising and nurturing new documentary filmmakers.
“OUTflix and OUTtv have always stood for stories about our community, for our community – and most importantly created and authored by our community. By making the recipients’ work available on our platform as part of our partnership with the Iris Prize, we also provide the visibility for these films to be enjoyed by audiences worldwide.
“There is a wealth of powerful and dynamic LGBTQ+ stories waiting to be told and we are very much looking forward to seeing what this year’s entries have to offer.”
Film Fund Timeline
April 2025 – Call for submissions opens on Monday 14 April.
June 2025 – Closing date 1 June. On-line workshop programme for shortlisted ideas leading to a pitching session when shortlisted ideas will pitch for the commission.
end July 2025 – Announcement of the selected commission
May 2026 – Begin post-production
July 2026 – Delivery
October 2026 – Premiere at Iris Prize LGBTQ+ Film Festival
Iris Prize will return this year: Monday 13 October – Sunday 19 October 2025.
Full details about Iris can be found here: www.irisprize.org
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; Transport for Wales; Stadium Plaza; and OUTflix. The festival also works in partnership with BAFTA Cymru and Pride Cymru