The Irish Film & Television Awards 2013

The 10th Irish Film & Television Awards ceremony airs tonight from the Convention Centre Dublin on RTE One. Presented by Simon Delaney (pictured right) the gong event showcases the best of Ireland’s creative talent.

The ceremony will be brimming with a host of film stars, telly personalities, directors, producers and distinguished guests to celebrate the undisputed talent that exists within the film and television industries in Ireland and around the globe whilst also reflecting on the past ten years.

 “The past 12 months has shown this industry to be resilient and hard-working, producing some of the most diverse, engaging and talked-about Irish dramas, documentaries, feature films; entertainment and factual programmes, and there’s no shortage of new and upcoming Irish creative talent, ready to make their mark on the world stage. It’s a time to acknowledge and be proud of their achievements, and the 10^th Ceremony will be a great showcase of this work and a chance to reflect on just how far our home industry has come in the last 10 years”. Says, The Irish Film and Television Academy  CEO, Aine Moriarty.

The feature films nominated for Best Film are family drama Death of a Superhero; 70’s Belfast punk scene Good Vibrations; comedy horror Grabbers; political drama Shadow Dancer and suspense drama What Richard Did. Up for Best Script is Martin McDonagh for Seven Psychopaths (also up for Best Director); along with Malcolm Campbell for What Richard Did; Kevin Lehane and Kieron J Walsh who receive Best Script nominations for Grabbers and Jump respectively.

Alongside Martin McDonagh, director Lenny Abrahamson is nominated for Director category for What Richard Did; Ian Fitzgibbon is nominated for Death of a Superhero and Pat Collins for directing Silence.

In the feature film acting categories, Colin Farrell is nominated for Seven Psychopaths, alongside Martin McCann, Ruth Bradley and Anne Marie Duff, for Jump, Grabbers and Sanctuary respectively. Newcomer Seana Kerslake receives her first nomination for Dollhouse, and is joined by Jack Reynor and Roisin Murphy for their roles in What Richard Did.

Nominee Actors in Supporting Roles in Film are Domhnall Gleeson for Anna Karenina, Ciaran Hinds for The Woman in Black, Michael McElhatton for Death of a Superhero and David Wilmot who is nominated for Shadow Dancer along with Bríd Brennan (Supporting Actress), who is joined by other actresses in that category, Bronagh Gallagher for Grabbers, Charlene McKenna for Jump and Gabrielle Reidy for What Richard Did.

Television Drama in Ireland continues to captivate audiences both at home and abroad with its compelling viewing. RTÉ’s Crime drama Love/Hate has received a total of 11 nominations for the third series – beating it’s own record of 10 nominations in 2012 – across a range of categories including Best Television Drama, Stuart Carolan for Script, David Caffrey for Director, along with Tom Vaughan Lawlor and Robert Sheehan for Lead Actor, and Charlie Murphy and Susan Loughnane for Lead Actress and Supporting Actress.

Neil Jordan is nominated for script for period drama The Borgias, which also receives a nomination for Best Drama. Period drama features strongly this year with Titanic: Blood and Steel receiving five nominations including Best Drama and Best Director for Ciaran Donnelly. Epic Game of Thrones which was filmed in Northern Ireland receives three nominations including Best Drama.

Director Declan Lowney and writers Chris O’Dowd and Nick Vincent Murphy are nominated for Moone Boy which has five nominations – including Best Entertainment and for Chris O’Dowd and Deirdre O’Kane in their Supporting Acting roles. Also nominated for their performances are Gabriel Byrne and Ruth Negga for Secret State. Colm Meaney is nominated for his turn in HBO’s Hell on Wheels; Actresses nominated for their work in a leading role are Orla Brady for Sinbad, Carrie Crowley for Rasaí na Gaillimhe, Amy Huberman for Threesome, and Love/Hate’s Charlie Murphy. Cathy Belton receives a Supporting Actress nomination for her performance in nominated Children’s drama Roy.

In Entertainment Programme, last year’s winner Mrs Brown’s Boys is nominated alongside Chris O’Dowd’s Moone Boy, The Voice of Ireland and The Savage Eye.

A Time To Die? is nominated in the category for Best Documentary along with Congo 1961, WB Yeats No Country for Old Men and medical documentary MND The Inside Track. Documentary Series Ray D’Arcy How To Beat Depression and 24 Hours to Kill are both nominated for TV3, alongside RTÉ’s Bullyproof and The New Irish After the Bust.

In Current Affairs/ News, BBC NI Sean Quinn’s Missing Millions is nominated alongside TV3’s Midweek Rural Ireland Fights Back and Vincent Browne Tonight, and RTÉ’s Prime Time’s Profiteering from Prostitution.

In the popular Children’s/Youth category OMG! Jedward’s Dream Factory, fronted by Ireland’s renowned Grimes twins, has been nominated alongside animated series Octonauts, travel series Tholg go Tolg and the unique Roy.

Also selected by a special jury and sponsored by the Irish Film Board, the Rising Star Award is a unique IFTA Award in that it aims to highlight exceptional new and breakthrough talent working in all areas of the Irish film industry. The nominees this year are writer-director-editor-producer Gerard Barrett, directors Lisa Barros D’sa & Glenn Leybourn, actor Jack Reynor and director Ciaran Foy.

James Hickey, Chief Executive, the Irish Film Board adds,“The growth of the Irish film industry is dependent on new talent coming through every year. Developing and creating opportunities for Irish talent both in front of and behind the camera is one of the primary functions of the Irish Film Board and the IFTA Rising Star award is an important opportunity to highlight up and coming Irish actors, directors and writers who have accomplished great work this year. I would like to congratulate all the nominees and we look forward to working with them in the future.”

The 10th Irish Film & Television Awards, RTE One, Saturday 9th February, 9.35pm