The Irish Film & Television Academy has announced nominations for this year’s Irish Academy Awards, covering 25 categories in Film and Drama. The best in Irish film over
IFTA are finalising plans for a virtual 2020 Awards Ceremony scheduled for September with full details to be announced shortly. The Academy has also confirmed that due to Covid-19 restrictions there will be no physical IFTA Awards Ceremony until April 2021, in keeping with best international practice across Awards ceremonies worldwide.
For this year’s IFTAs, the Best Film category has been split into two, Film 2019 and Film 2020, while some other categories expanded from four to six nominees to include nominees over the past two years.
Nominations have been shortlisted by Irish Academy Members alongside a specialist Jury panel of industry experts from around the world.
IFTA Chief Executive, Áine Moriarty stated that:
“This year’s Nominations showcase to the world what Ireland’s small but excellent film and television community has to offer. Our industry is delivering world-class standards and the Irish Academy is proud to showcase and acknowledge their achievements. These past few months have been difficult for so many, and we look forward to a time when Irish productions can resume and continue to bring powerful engaging stories to the screen”.
Recent Element Pictures television sensation Normal People did not make the deadline for this year’s awards and will instead feature next year. Element Pictures and Element Distribution won’t be too cut up at having to wait though, have received an impressive 30 nominations across the various categories.
Across the film categories and including craft and technical, Arracht leads the way in film with 11 nominations, while Rosie receives 9, The Hole in The Ground 7, Black 47 6, Calm with Horses and Ordinary Love both receive 5. Float like a Butterfly, Never Grow Old and The Dig each received 4 noms.
Niamh Algar and Jessie Buckley top the board in the acting categories, receiving 3 Nominations each across Film and TV Drama in a year where both firmly announced themselves as big stars on the Irish scene. They’re followed by Caitriona Balfe, Sarah Greene, Dara Devaney, Tom Vaughan Lawlor and Barry Keoghan, all of whom received 2 Nominations.
In Television Drama Blood receives 5, Dublin Murders and Vikings 4 Nominations each, The Virtues and Game of Thrones receive 3, and Death and Nightingales and Killing Eve both receive 2 Nominations.
Check out the full list of nominees for this year’s IFTAs below:
Best Film 2019
Black ’47
Float Like a Butterfly
Rosie
The Dig
The Hole in the Ground
Best Film 2020
A Bump Along the Way
Arracht
Calm with Horses
Extra Ordinary
Ordinary Love
Best Director – Film
Paddy Breathnach – Rosie
Nora Twomey – The Breadwinner
Lance Daly – Black ’47
Tom Sullivan – Arracht
Mike Ahern & Enda Loughman – Extra Ordinary
Lee Cronin – The Hole in the Ground
Lisa Barros D’Sa & Glenn Leyburn – Ordinary Love
Best Script Film
Roddy Doyle – Rosie
Owen McCafferty – Ordinary Love
Joe Murtagh – Calm with Horses
Mark O’Halloran – Rialto
Tom Sullivan – Arracht
Carmel Winters – Float Like a Butterfly
Actress in a Lead Role Film
Jessie Buckley – Wild Rose
Aisling Franciosi – The Nightingale
Bronagh Gallagher – A Bump Along The Way
Sarah Greene – Rosie
Seána Kerslake – The Hole In The Ground
Saoirse Ronan – Little Women
Actor in a Lead Role Film
Dara Devaney – Finky
Moe Dunford – The Dig
Liam Neeson – Ordinary Love
Dónall Ó Héalaí – Arracht
Tom Vaughan Lawlor – Rialto
Barry Ward – Extra Ordinary
Actress in a Supporting Role Film
Niamh Algar – Calm With Horses
Catriona Balfe – Le Mans ’66
Seána Kerslake – Dublin Oldschool
Charlie Murphy – Dark Lies The Island
Emily Taaffe – The Dig
Catherine Walker – We Ourselves
Actor in a Supporting Role Film
Lorcan Cranitch – The Dig
Dara Devaney – Arracht
Barry Keoghan – Calm With Horses
Ian Lloyd-Anderson – Dublin Oldschool
Stephen Rea – Black ’47
David Wilmot – Ordinary Love
The George Morrison Feature Documentary Award
Gaza
I’Dolours
Katie
The Image you Missed
The Lonely Battle of Thomas Reid
When All is Ruin Once Again
Best Drama
Blood
Death and Nightingales
Dublin Murders
Vikings
Best Director – Drama
Anthony Byrne – Peaky Blinders
John Hayes – Dublin Murders
Lisa Mulcahy – Blood
Hannah Quinn – Blood
Aisling Walsh – Elizabeth is Missing
Dearbhla Walsh – The Handmaid’s Tale
Best Script Drama
Ronan Bennett – Top Boy
Daragh Carville – The Bay
Mark O’Connor – Darklands
Mark O’Rowe – Temple
Actress in a Lead Role Drama
Niamh Algar – The Virtues
Caitriona Balfe – Outlander
Jessie Buckley – The Woman in White
Sarah Greene – Dublin Murders
Ruth Negga – Preacher
Ann Skelly – Death and Nightingales
Actor in a Lead Role Drama
Richard Dormer – Fortitude
Adrian Dunbar – Line Of Duty
Brendan Gleeson – Mr Mercedes
Cillian Murphy – Peaky Blinders
Chris O’Dowd – Get Shorty
Andrew Scott – Black Mirror – Smithereens
Actress in a Supporting Role Drama
Niamh Algar – Pure
Helen Behan – The Virtues
Ruth Bradley – Guilt
Jessie Buckley – Chernobyl
Ingrid Craigie – Blood
Fiona Shaw – Killing Eve