Out Film CT is proud to announce the honor of being selected as a nominating festival for the Iris Prize - the largest queer short film award in the world!

Becoming a nominating festival recognizes the Connecticut LGBTQ Film Festival’s prominence as one of the longest-running and most highly respected queer film festivals in the United States. It's truly an honor to be selected as a partner in this global contest, celebrating the best in queer storytelling and filmmaking. You can read the full press release here.

Berwyn Rowlands, Iris Prize Festival Founder and Director said: "We've relied on partner festivals to be our eyes and ears, to select what they consider to be an example of excellence in storytelling. Each year a small group of film festivals select one film each to go through to the Iris Prize final and a chance to win £40,000 ($55,000) to make a new short film. In this our 20th anniversary year we are thrilled to invite Out Film CT’s Connecticut LGBTQ Film Festival to join the family of nominating festivals, which also includes Frameline who are celebrating their 50th anniversary this year." Click here to visit the Iris Prize website.

Be sure to mark your calendar for the 39th annual Connecticut LGBTQ Film Festival: June 12 - 20, 2026!

To view last year's festival site, click here.