A Northern Irish film has been shortlisted for the prestigious Iris Prize 2025. Purebred by Caleb J. Roberts is among the 15 titles in the running for the coveted £40,000 award, which recognises excellence in LGBTQ+ cinema.
The short film is set during a heatwave in Belfast. It follows a trans man, Owen, who returns to the flat of his on-again, off-again lover Seán after taking a pregnancy test. Assuming conception wasn’t possible, the nature of their casual relationship has to be reevaluated.
The Northern Irish film was announced as one of the nominees for the Iris Prize Best British Short award on Saturday, July 26, and will also be eligible for various other accolades. These include Best British Performance in a Female Role, Best British Performance in a Male Role, Best British Performance Beyond the Binary, Iris Prize Co-op Audience Award, Iris Prize Youth Jury Award and Iris Prize Youth Jury Award.
All shortlisted productions will screen at the 19th edition of the festival from October 13 to 19, and will be available afterwards on Iris Online as well as Channel 4.
Speaking about this year’s selection, Festival Director Berwyn Rowlands said, “In the early years, finding 10 excellent short films was a challenge, finding 15 this year was easy; we could easily screen more.”
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Alongside its inclusion for the 2025 Iris Prize, Purebred has also been selected for festivals in Palm Springs, Bolton, and Basingstoke, as well as the Fringe Queer Film & Arts Festival, Galway Film Fleadh, and GAZE International LGBTQIA Film Festival.
Caleb J. Roberts was also the runner-up for the Emerging Directors Award 2025 for his work on the film. The Belfast-based writer and director’s other projects include Malcolm and Homebird, and he is also part of the Trans Image/Trans Experience (TITE) Film Festival team.
Sharing news of the Iris Prize nomination on Instagram, Caleb said he was “delighted”. He extended “a massive thank you” to the festival, as well as Outburst Queer Arts Festival “for making this possible”.
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