Iris, this is Sydney calling.

The first three entries to be shortlisted for the inaugural Iris Prize have been selected by the Prize’s partner festivals in Sydney, London and Miami.

The first film is Look Sharp by Amy Gebhardt selected from the Sydney Mardi Gras Film Festival - organised by Queer Screen Vision – which took place from February 15^th – 25^th. "It’s exciting that the first film competing for the Iris Prize has been announced here in Sydney. We have always been fortunate with our programming, presenting time and time again a diverse selection of ground breaking work. I’m glad that we will be setting the benchmark for this fantastic competition," said David Pearce, Programmer with Queer Screen.

Look Sharp (pictured above) is a gripping one-scene psychological drama set in 1970s Melbourne. It’s the first film by Amy Gebhardt who recently completed her Masters in Directing at Australian Film Television and Radio School and is currently working on her first feature.

The second shortlisted film was chosen by the programmers of the London Lesbian and Gay Film Festival which took place at newly revamped British Film Institute from March 21^st – April 4^th. Their chosen film was Summer by Hong Khaou. Summer is at first glance a portrayal of the friendship between two young men. However, the film is far more than this. The two leads Jay Brown and Peter Peralta deliver convincing performances guided by Hong Khaou who successfully directs a simple story which manages to be both sensitive and edgy.

Float by Bahamian filmmaker Kareen Mortimer won the Audience Award at the recent Miami Lesbian and Gay Film Festival (April 27th - May 6th) and was therefore chosen by the festival’s programmers’ to go straight into the top 30 shortlist for Iris. Set in a picturesque small island of the Bahamas, Mortimer’s third short film follows Johnny, a young Caucasian painter, travels to an artists’ retreat to seek clarity and vision and finds instead unexpected love and adventure in the shape of Romeo, a handsome and sexually ambiguous Bahamian. Beautifully shot, Float shares a valuable lesson about love, friendship and the risks you navigate to find your own freedom.

"It’s very exciting to confirm the first shortlisted entries for Iris and we’re grateful to our partner festivals for selecting three excellent short films. We hope that Amy, Hong and Kareen will be able to join in us in Cardiff in October" said Prize coordinator Berwyn Rowlands. "After months of planning and working with the Prize’s sponsors and partner festivals, all our aspirations for Iris are finally coming to fruition. The high standard of work already entered into the Prize completely justifies creating a single international platform to showcase and celebrate the work of the next generation of lesbian and gay filmmakers who will, I’m sure, go onto great things. We’re looking forward to finding out who the other partner festivals will select to compete for Iris, as well as receiving entries from around the world through open submissions which closes on June 29^th."

For full information about Iris please see her web site at http://www.irisprize.org