Graduate’s film shown at 20th Iris Prize Film Festival

A short film by USW graduate Will Collins has been screened on the opening night of the 20th Iris Prize Film Festival – a global celebration of LGBTQ+ storytelling – being held in Cardiff this week.

Will wrote and directed the film, Love is Not an Emotion, while studying BA (Hons) Performance and Media at USW. The dystopian story, set in 2030 Britain, explores an unexpected romance between Archie, an AI-controlled android, and Rory, a human being, which sees them grapple with the limits of humanity, artificial intelligence, and what it truly means to love.

Will collaborated with students from Performance and Media, Theatre and Drama, Photography, and Sound, Lighting and Live Events on the film, which was one of four Welsh titles shown during the opening night event at Cineworld.

Matthew Gough, course leader for Performance and Media at USW, said: “We're thrilled to see Will's achievement being celebrated at the Iris Prize Festival. Their success is a wonderful example of the creative talent emerging from the course and of the opportunities that can grow from sustained engagement with industry partners such as Iris. 

“Our Performance and Media students, as well as Film students, are actively supporting the festival throughout the week – creating content, assisting with festival activity, and attending the Industry Day programme, where they have the opportunity to learn directly from industry professionals and experts about career development within the creative industries.

“Will's inclusion in this year's Iris Prize is a fantastic example of how graduates are progressing from participating in the festival as students to being recognised as artists in their own right.”

Will added: “I feel incredibly proud that Love Is Not An Emotion was selected to premiere on the opening night of the 20^th Iris Prize Film Festival. For my directorial debut short to be given such a large platform, at the world's largest prize-winning LGBTQ+ short film festival, is an honour I'll never take for granted.

“Now, more than ever, it is crucial for queer voices to have a platform in which we can tell our stories and share our experiences to a variety of audiences; for the last 20 years Iris has been a shining light of queer storytelling beaming across the world from our wonderful home in South Wales, to now be considered part of that legacy is a privilege. 

“None of this would have been possible without the wonderful support from the Performance and Media course at USW. During my three years on the course I have learnt the skills to self-develop, think critically and be autonomous in my craft within multiple roles of the film and TV industry. On the course, we always strived to work and meet industry standards from day one in all of our projects, because, why not, right?

“Our intensive learning and skill development periods allowed me to be fully prepared for the incredibly tough industry I have now entered. All of which I would not have been ready for, if it wasn't for the truly inspiring direction the course is now being led by.”

The 2026 Iris Prize takes place from 12-18 October. For the full festival programme, visit: https://irisprize.org/2026-programme/

Images: Frederika Machova and Jon Pountney