IRIS (2022) - Trailer
“ Iris is an intimate, sensitive and personal short film
that makes a very current issue, which is rarely addressed in cinema, visible.
It uses the poetics of animation in a masterful way, with images that can engage very diverse audiences.
It transmits deep emotion in a short time,
using the immersive and psychological power
of animation, narration and music.
The use of time and the structuring of the story is remarkable,
as is the intersection between the intimate and the universal. “
— SAFICXS Argentina Jury, 2025, Honorable Mention
IRIS (2022) – Short Film
As a child, I was frequently asked, “Iris, why don’t you have a father?” To me, a strange question. That I was being raised by 2 mothers, I considered to be perfectly normal. In the animated film IRIS, I share my origin story. I share the quest of my mothers who, in the 90s, searched for a way to fulfill their wish to start a family. In the film I highlight the coincidences and events in their life that lead to the decisions that were made. And those decisions lead to a new life, my life.
IRIS has been screened at over 20 international film festivals and featured in panels and Q&A’s.
Animation & production
Iris Pontoni Wachowicz
Sound & music design
Yigit Yesildag
PRIDE PICNIC – HKU x UvH 2025
Screening of IRIS, followed by a conversation with Fabiola Camuti (HKU) and Annemijn van der Schaar (UvH) on legal obstacles, heteronormative questions, queer joy and growing up beyond gendered expectations.
“Visually striking and engaging”
“Artistically unique and creative”
“Incredibly impactful message”
— SWIFF Jury, 2022, Honorable mention
Film screenings
2022
- HKU Exposure – Utrecht (Première)
- Niederrhein Filmfestival – Wesel, Germany
- MAF Media Animatie Festival – Utrecht
- Animatie Film Festival – Zwolle
- Animatie Avond – Utrecht
- Blikvangers – Utrecht + Q&A
- Women’s Film Festival Demakijaż – Lublin, Poland (Finalist)
- REX Animation Festival – Stockholm, Sweden
- Pixel Vienna Animation Festival – Austria
- SWIFF – Student World Impact Film Festival (Honorable Mention)
2023 – 2024
- Roze Filmdagen – Amsterdam
- Brighton International Animation Festival – UK
- ANIMATIBA – Curitiba, Brazil (South American Première) + Panel discussion
- Queersicht Filmfestival – Bern , Switserland
- Fresh Meet BROET – Eindhoven , Q&A
- Suikerzoet Filmfestival – Schiedam
- PERLEN Queer Film Festival – Hannover, Germany
- Pink Panorama – luzern, Switserland
2025 – 2026
- Colors of Love – Mumbai, India (Asian Première)
- SAFICXS International Lesbian Short Film Fest – Buenos Aires, Argentina (Honorable Mention)
- HKU x Universiteit voor Humanistiek – Utrecht, Talk + screening
- AnimaQUEER – Florianópolis, Brasil
- MT QUEER PREMIA – Cuiabá, Brasil
- BAHIA INDEPENDENT CINEMA FESTIVAL – Salvador, Brasil
- BEE Film Festival – São Paulo, Brasil
- Queer Arts Festival – Den Bosch, Netherlands + Q&A
While making the film, and the years after, I realised that what interested me most was not the animation itself. It was everything that came before it: researching, asking questions, uncovering stories and listening to people’s experiences. In fact, much of the research I did for IRIS could have been a documentary in itself.
I am proud of what I created with animation, but I no longer see it as the direction I want to pursue. As of 2026 I am taking the next step in my practice and developing myself as a documentary filmmaker.