Rural love story wins gay prize

Doctor Who writer Russell T Davies congratulates Till Kleinert

A German filmmaker's story about a city dweller and a country lad's terrible price for love has won the £25,000 first prize in a gay film competition.

Till Kleinert's Cowboy triumphed in the Iris Prize Festival in Cardiff, which organisers called the world's biggest gay and lesbian short film festival.

Torchwood creator Russell T Davies, who also wrote Channel 4's Queer as Folk, presented the prize.

The three-day festival also hosted premieres for feature-length films.

The 30 films shortlisted for the Iris prize tackle a range of subjects, including relationships, homophobia and sexual identity.

Kleinert's 35-minute film also won him a £500 travel award to help him return to the UK to make his next film.

Feature film

Festival organiser Berwyn Rowlands said: "This year Cardiff demonstrated to the world that with the support of Iris the city could become a significant force for the world's lesbian and gay film community".

At the award ceremony Mr Gay UK, Cardiff-based Dino Gamecho, announced that the competition's new £1,000 award for best feature film was won by American James Bolton for Dream Boy, a love story between teenagers in the American South in the 1970s.

The feature film is selected by the Friends of Iris, individuals who open their homes to the makers of films shortlisted for the festival.