Andrew Pierce joins Jury

Andrew Pierce (Assistant Editor, The Daily Telegraph, pictured below), Welsh filmmaker Sara Sugarman and Angela Gidden MBE are amongst the members of the International Jury who will be faced with the difficult task of choosing one film from a short list of 30 to be the winner of the inaugural Iris Prize, the world’s largest short film prize valued at around £25,000.

"We’re delighted with the calibre and experience of the International Jury" said Iris Prize founder Berwyn Rowlands of The Festivals Company. "As well as a number of talented filmmakers from the UK and abroad, we’ve also got people like Andrew and Angela, who, working in journalism and design respectively, can bring a different perspective to the judging process".

All the jury members will be present in Cardiff for The Iris Prize Festival, which will take place from October 4th – 6th at Cineworld and Chapter. Along with screenings of the 30 short-listed films, the programme includes feature films, talks, parties and the closing night award ceremony where the International Jury will announce the winner of the first Iris Prize.

"I’m confident the international jury will find it difficult choosing an overall winner. However, we should remember that all the film makers who’ve reached the finals in Cardiff are already winners for getting this far. I wish everybody a fun time during the festival," said Iris Patron Matthew Rhys, who’s currently making waves in the hit series Brothers and Sisters.

Programme highlights include the Welsh premiere of the highly acclaimed The Bubble, the European premieres of Holding Trevor and The Gay Bed and Breakfast of Terror, a Producer’s Forum examining how to successfully produce and market gay content and a Writer’s Session focusing on writing gay characters for straight and gay audiences.

"I think it’s going to be a really exciting three days" said James Nee from The Festivals Company. "As well as the International Jury, there will also be the shortlisted filmmakers from all around the world present at the festival, making it a unique opportunity to watch some fantastic short films and then meet the filmmakers afterwards – how often do you get the chance to do that?"

The full festival programme can be viewed online at www.irisprize.org.