Berwyn Rowlands, founder of the Iris Prize Film Festival, has been shortlisted for a 2021 National Lottery Award.
The National Lottery Awards are the annual search for the UK’s favourite National Lottery funded people and projects, and they celebrate the inspirational individuals and groups who do extraordinary things in their community. Encompassing all aspects of National Lottery Good Causes funding, the 2021 National Lottery Awards will recognise outstanding individuals from four main categories: Culture, Arts and Film, Heritage, Sport and Community/Charity.
This year, Cardiff-based film and TV producer Berwyn Rowlands has been shortlisted in the Culture, Arts and Film category of the National Lottery Awards for his outstanding work over fifteen years as the Founder and Festival Director of the Iris Prize LGBT+ Film Festival. Rowlands is flying the flag for Wales and is one of only five individuals from across the UK shortlisted in the Arts category.
Established by Rowlands in 2006, the National Lottery-funded Iris Prize takes place in Cardiff annually and has developed into the biggest international LGBT+ short film prize in the world, cementing itself as a significant event in the British film festival calendar. The festival also runs LGBT+ education and community outreach projects throughout Wales and the rest of the UK, and has featured in the top fifty film festivals in the world by Movie Maker magazine for four years.
‘It’s an absolute honour to be shortlisted as a finalist in the Arts category for the 2021 National Lottery Awards’, said Berwyn Rowlands. ‘During the pandemic, film has provided escapism and comfort for so many at a time when it’s needed most, and this is why the Iris Prize continued last year in an online capacity. I would like to thank The National Lottery players for supporting myself and the Iris Prize and for helping us to run an unique festival which is dedicated to celebrating amazing LGBT+ film and bringing films from this diverse community to the attention of wider audiences around the world’.
This year, more than 1,500 people were nominated for a National Lottery Award in recognition of the work they have carried out with the help of National Lottery funding. Next month, a panel made up of representatives of The National Lottery and partners will decide the winners of each category. Winners will be revealed in the autumn and will receive a £3,000 cash prize for their organisation and a coveted National Lottery Awards trophy.
To find out more about Berwyn Rowlands‘ Iris Prize Film Festival, visit the Iris Prize website here.
For more information about The National Lottery Awards and projects funded by The National Lottery, visit the National Lottery website here and follow the campaign on Twitter: @LottoGoodCauses #NLAwards.
