The winners of this year's prestigious Iris Prize Festival have been announced and they include an accolade for a first-time filmmaker from Cardiff.
Jay Bedwani scooped Best UK Short at the world's largest gay and lesbian short film festival for his nine minute film My Mother, which focuses on Gustavo Billarreal from California and what inspires him to live and perform as his alter-ego Donna Personna.
Jay Bedwani accepting his prize. Photo: Iris Prize Festival
Jay said his film aimed to respond to Gustavo "unobtrusively and honestly".
"I wanted to capture what compelled Gustavo to have these two identities and rather than just being about attention and ego, I felt it was much more to do with his personal relationships and his childhood," he said.
"I wasn't expecting to win anything so I'm really delighted and surprised. The award has given me a lot of confidence and I've had a lot of support from directors so I'm really excited about the future.
"Gustavo was really happy with the film and to hear about the award so I'm looking forward to meeting up with him and celebrating."
Gustavo Billarreal in a still from My Mother. Image courtesy of Jay Bedwani
Jury representative Gilly Adams said: "It's rare to find a documentary made with such love and tenderness.
"This beautiful film captivates with its intimate account of a courageous life. We wanted it to be longer."
Read a longer blog entry about the film on the BBC Wales Blog.
Jay will now sit on the jury for the 2014 Iris Prize.
The overall festival prize, worth £25,000, was won by Tim Marshall from Australia for his film Gorilla, a short film about a newly-formed couple who are forced to face the unknown in their lives when a mysterious woman arrives at their secluded campsite.
He will use the prize money to make a new short film in the UK.
Other winners this year included Eytan Fox, who scooped Best Feature Award for Cupcakes; Ryan Steele, who won Best Actor in a Feature for his portrayal of Chip in Five Dances; and Sabine Wolf, who won Best Actress in a Feature for the role of Katya in Two Mothers.
For Dorian directed by Rodrigo Barriuso (Canada) and The Last Time I Saw Richard directed by Nicholas Verso (Australia) were highly commended by the jury,
The Youth Jury, as part of Takeover Cardiff sponsored by The British Council, announced their winner as Straight With You directed by Daan Bol. The Language of Love directed by Laura Scrivano also received an honourable mention.
Jay Bedwani at the Iris Festival with his mother and father. Photo: Iris Prize Festival
Gilly Adams said: "Iris 2013 has reminded us of the enjoyment to be had in discussing film.
"We've learned new ways of looking at cinema through sharing ideas, and often found our opinions changed by the challenge of listening to opposing views.
"We were impressed by the strength of the documentaries in this year's selection - subtler and perhaps less angry than in the past.
"Across the board we felt that the storytelling and the film making were better and a cause for optimism about the future of LGBT cinema."
All of the filmmakers who travelled to Wales were hosted by the Friends of Iris, individuals who open their homes to the makers of the 30 shortlisted films from as far afield as Australia, Israel, the Netherlands, Austria, Germany, Norway and the United States.
The five-day festival also included nine of the latest gay and lesbian feature films, all enjoying their UK premieres at the festival.
Festival guests included director Diemo Kemmesies (Silent Youth, Germany), Paul Sweeney, senior film buyer for Cineworld, and a strong UK contingency including Jason Davitt (Vampires: Lucas Rising, Wales) and Simon Savory (Bruno & Earlene Go To Vegas, England).
The International Jury included last year's Iris Prize winner Grant Scicluna from Australia, festival directors Sridhar Rangayan from Mumbai, India and David Mullane from Dublin, Ireland.
