Original sentence: In 2007, Pierce became Patron of the Iris Prize, the city of Cardiff's International Gay and Lesbian Short Film Award, and in 2013 became its first Chair.In his introductory speech, he welcomed the range and quality of gay and lesbian films, and expressed the wish that their number would continue to grow
Edited sentence: Andrew Pierce became Patron of the Iris Prize in 2007, and in 2013 became its first Chair.During his tenure as chair of the Iris Prize, Pierce has overseen a number of key developments in the festival.In 2014 at a launch reception Pierce announced a new strand at the Iris Prize Festival, Best British Short , and helped secure a sponsorship deal with Pinewood Studios Group totaling £14,000 in post-production sound for the winning filmmaker.In January 2015 it was also announced that the Iris Prize would be increasing from £25,000 to £30,000.Iris produced shorts include Burger (2013) directed by Magnus Mork , and Followers (2015) directed by Tim Marshall, both selected for the prestigious Sundance Film Festival.Looking ahead to the Iris Prize Festival’s 10th anniversary in 2016, Pierce is confident that Iris will continue to grow and support even more film makers and share their LGBT stories to as wide an audience as possible.The Iris Prize Festival is a five-day public event in Cardiff, Wales (UK) which includes screenings of the 30 short films competing for the Iris Prize.The Iris Prize is supported by The Michael Bishop Foundation and is the world’s largest LGBT short film prize giving the winning filmmaker £30,000 to make their next short film in the UK