The New Zealand film voted Best Short Film in this year's Out Takes gay film festival has now been nominated for a prestigious short film prize in the UK. Brian Moore, Chris Tempest and Alan Granville feature in 'Teddy' Teddy is among thirty films chosen from around the world to compete for the 2009 Iris Prize, an annual event and festival held in Wales in October. It tells the story of a Londoner who hopes to rekindle his lost relationship with a man now living in New Zealand. The writer/director of Teddy, an independently produced and funded production, says he is thrilled at the nomination, which comes on the back of several sold-out screenings in July at the Director's Guild of America in Hollywood. "The support we've had internationally for our film has been fantastic," says Christopher Banks, "but its the support from the local gay community who came to see the film at Out Takes and voted for us as Best Short that's been particularly heartening. We don't see enough of our own stories on screen, and our experience this year has shown us that there's an enthusiastic international audience for New Zealand-made gay stories as well." The chosen films will be competing in Wales for a top prize package worth over $NZ60,000.
Credit: GayNZ.com Daily News staff
First published: Tuesday, 11th August 2009 - 10:38pm