Organisers of the Cardiff based Iris Prize LGBT+ Film Festival are delighted to have confirm the appointment of Heather Small as a patron of the organisation.
The world-famous soul singer achieved huge success in the 90s with the group M People, selling over 10 million albums worldwide, before embarking on a solo career, with hits including Proud. Heather has been a supporter of the Iris Prize for many years, performing during the festival’s awards show in 2017 and returning in 2018 as a member of the International Jury.
Heather Small, Singer and Iris Patron commented: “There are certain things you do that put joy in your heart and make you smile from the inside out: that, for me, is the Iris Prize”
“I have to say, it feels amazing. I am truly committed to the Iris Prize and I am truly committed to my new role. I want to bring something a little extra that is part of me, in the sense of more people hearing about the Iris Prize and more people seeing those films. They definitely have to be seen. These stories have to be told.”
Berwyn Rowlands, Director and Founder of the Iris Prize commented: “I’ve always been a massive fan of Heather and I’m happy to admit I was a little starstruck when she agreed to support Iris by performing at the awards show. They say “don’t meet your heroes”, but I’m glad I did!
“She was amazing and a very popular jury member who took the job seriously. She took an active part in the decision-making process which awards one film maker with the £30,000 Iris Prize — still the world’s largest single prize for a short film.
“What’s super cool about Heather is she’s got the gift of reaching out to people. There was a lovely incident in a Cardiff restaurant during the 2018 festival. It was late and the jury were tired having been watching and discussing films all day. Heather had other ideas, suddenly she befriended the guy who had been entertaining the diners with his guitar. Next thing, they were singing Stand By Me together. It was one of those magic moments, which happen often when you are in the company of this special person.”
Andrew Pierce, Festival Chair, commented: “You just know when somebody is genuine and interested in your work. Heather has been unbelievably generous with her time supporting Iris and our work in sharing LGBT+ stories to as wide an audience as possible.
“In our 15th anniversary year we are in a strong position to take Iris to another level. Unexpectedly we reached audiences in the 80,000 in 2020 as we took Iris online. I’m sure with Heather joining us formally as a patron we should be able to sustain those numbers in 2021 and I hope increase them.”
“There are a lot of unknowns about how 2021 will pan out, primarily because of the continued impact of the pandemic. But I am reassured that with Heather joining our other patrons, including Lord Glendonbrook, Christopher Racster, Sara Sugarman, Katie White and myself, we have enough stability to see our work continue and increase in impact as we share more LGBT+ stories with new audiences.”
The main festival sponsors are: The Michael Bishop Foundation, Welsh Government, the BFI awarding funds from The National Lottery, Ffilm Cymru Wales, Film 4, University of South Wales, Co-op Respect, Bad Wolf, Gorilla Group, Peccadillo Pictures, Pinewood Studios, Attitude Magazine, Diva Magazine and The Ministry of Sound.
The festival also works in partnership with BAFTA Cymru, Pride Cymru and Stonewall Cymru.