·       The Wilding  (directed by Grant Scicluna, Australia) - Iris Prize

And the other winners are:

·        A Stable for Disabled Horses (directed by Fabio Youniss) – Best UK Short

·        Sex of Angels (directed by Xavier Villaverde) - Iris Prize Best Feature Award

·        Ohad Knoller (Yossi in Yossi) Best Actor in a Feature

·        Kristina Valada-Viars (Molly in Molly’s Girl) Best Actress in a Feature

A short film about the romance that blossoms between two juvenile inmates in an Australian jail has been announced as winner of the 2012 Iris Prize – Cardiff’s International Gay and Lesbian Short Film Prize. The £25,000 prize will allow the filmmaker a chance to make a new short film in the UK.

At the sold out Iris Awards 2012 presented by Amy Lamé at Cardiff’s Park Inn Hotel, Lisa Power, Jury Chair announced that the international jury had selected filmmaker Grant Scicluna from Australia to scoop the coveted award.

Lisa Power, Jury Chair said, “The Wilding was wonderfully self-assured. It took a familiar trope and turned it into an extraordinary story.  This was a special film which demanded attention and every which way we counted the votes and considered our options The Wilding came out on top.”

It was also announced by the Deputy Lord Mayor of Cardiff, Keith Jones that the festival’s award for best feature film was won by Xavier Villaverde for Sex of Angels. The Award carries a £1,000 cash prize donated by Independent Financial Adviser Martin Briggs from Cardiff and is selected by the Friends of Iris.

West End star Daniel Boys announced that the Best UK Short was won by Fabio Youniss for his film A Stable for Disabled Horses.  Fabio will be invited to be a member of the 2013 Iris Prize International Jury.

“This was the runaway UK winner for script, performance and cinematography. We look forward to seeing what film he will direct next,” added Jury Chair, Lisa Power.

Yeah Kowalski directed by Evan Roberts (USA) and These Empty Streets directed by Jarrah Gurrie (Australia) were highly commended by the jury,

The awards for best actor and best actress in a feature film were presented to Ohad Knoller for his performance as Yossi in the film Yossi and Kristina Valada-Viares for her performance as Molly in Molly’s Girl. Both awards were sponsored by the London Women’s Clinic.

All of the film makers who travelled to Wales were hosted by the Friends of Iris, individuals who open their homes to the makers of the 31 short listed films from as far a field as Australia, Israel, Switzerland, Austria, Germany, Norway and the United States.

The five day festival also included eight of the latest gay and lesbian feature films, with all enjoying their UK premieres at the festival.

Festival guests included Israeli heartthrob Oz Zehavi, West End star Daniel Boys and Esquire magazine’s funniest new comic Jackie Monahan.  The International Jury included last year’s Iris Prize winner Daniel Ribeiro from Brazil, directors Matthew Mishory and Terracino from the US, and film makers, actors and industry experts from across the continents.

Iris Prize website: http://www.irisprize.org/