IFTA nominees announced for the 2015 IFTA Film and Drama Awards

TV3 will be bringing Irish viewers and the home audience all the excitement from Ceremony and the Red Carpet in a one hour IFTA Awards Special with all the highlights and interviews with nominees and winners, stars of the screen, guest presenters, Lifetime and special guests. The Mansion House celebrates its 300th anniversary this year, and on this special night, the Lord Mayor will welcome 500 guests from across the world of Irish Film & Television coming together to honour and celebrate the great achievements of Ireland’s home industry and of Irish creative talent working at home and abroad.

Nominations are announced in categories across film and drama, celebrating the highest standard of Irish talent over the past twelve months. All IFTA’s categories have been shortlisted by Members of the Irish Film & Television Academy alongside a select Jury panel of industry experts from around the world.

In the film categories, ‘Frank’ and ‘Patrick’s Day’ both secured nine nominations apiece while ‘Glassland’ received six. There were three nominations each for ‘I Used to Live Here’, ‘Noble’ and ‘Song of the Sea’.

Of the television dramas, ‘Love/Hate’ and ‘Vikings’ received seven nominations each while ‘Charlie’, ‘The Fall’ and ‘Game of Thrones’ all garnered three.

Academy CEO, Aine Moriarty stated that: ‘This year’s Nominations showcase to the world what Ireland’s small but excellent film and television community has to offer. Their hard work over the last 12 months has delivered world-class standards with some of the most diverse and engaging Irish films and dramas along with great feature documentaries and shorts. We look forward to acknowledging and celebrating the great work of the home industry on the Ceremony night ahead.’

The feature films nominated for Best Film this year are ‘Frank’ which gives an insight into the weird and wonderful world of the enigmatic musician; the gritty urban family drama of ‘Glassland’; the raw, moving and honest ‘I Used to Live Here’; the feel good true-life story of ‘Noble’; the poignant and sensitive exploration of mental health in ‘Patrick’s Day’, and the beautiful Irish animated fantasy ‘Song of the Sea’; Three of the Best Films also get nominations for Best Director; Lenny Abrahamson for ‘Frank’; Gerard Barrett ‘Glassland’ and Terry McMahon for ‘Patrick’s Day’, with John Carney also in that category for the musical drama ‘Begin Again’.

Frank Berry and Will Collins are nominated for their scripts for ‘I Used to Live Here’ and ‘Song of the Sea’ alongside writer/directors Gerard Barrett and Terry McMahon.

In the Actor in a Leading Role Film category, Colin Farrell is nominated for ‘Miss Julie’ alongside Jack Reynor for his performance in ‘Glassland’; Michael Fassbender is shortlisted for his turn in ‘Frank’ and ‘Patrick’s Day’s leading-man performance by Moe Dunford has also been recognised.

Deirdre O’Kane is in good company in Actress in a Leading Role Film with her ‘Noble’ performance alongside Simone Kirby’s turn in ‘Jimmy’s Hall’; Both are joined by new acting talents Tara Breathnach who performs in the ‘A Nightingale Falling’ and Jordanne Jones for her debut in ‘I Used to Live Here’.

Nominee Actors in Supporting Roles in Film are Domhnall Gleeson for ‘Frank’, Allan Leech for ‘The Imitation Game’; Andrew Scott for ‘Pride’ and James Nesbitt who is nominated for ‘Gold’.

Sinead Cusack is nominated for Supporting Actress in Film for ‘Queen and Country’ alongside Kerry Condon for ‘Gold’; Sarah Green for ‘Noble’ and Catherine Walker for her performance in ‘Patrick’s Day’.

Television Drama being produced across Ireland north and south, continues to enthral both Irish and International audiences with compelling scripts, great direction and performances all round. In the Broadcasting Authority of Ireland (BAI) sponsored Best Drama category, Northern Irish based police investigations drama ‘The Fall’ is nominated alongside the epic fantasy ‘Game of Thrones’ and the historical action drama ‘Vikings’ which is shot in co Wicklow. Dublin based Dramas also feature strongly with the political drama ‘Charlie’ being nominated as well as the final season of gritty urban drama ‘Love/Hate’.

Nominations in Best Director Drama are David Caffrey for ‘Love/Hate’, Dearbhla Walsh for ‘Penny Dreadful’, Ciaran Donnelly for ‘Vikings’, and Colm McCarthy for ‘Peaky Blinders’. The nominees for Best Writer Drama are Colin Murphy for banking crisis drama ‘The Guarantee’; Colin Teevan for ‘Charlie’, Stuart Carolan for ‘Love/Hate’, and Tom Collins, Eoin McNamee & Paul Walker for Celtic noir show ‘An Bronntanas’.

The strongly contested Actor Lead role in Television category sees Jamie Dornan nominated for ‘The Fall’, Aidan Gillen shortlisted for ‘Charlie’, Cillian Murphy for ‘Peaky Blinders’, and Tom Vaughan Lawlor for ‘Love/Hate’.

Newcomer Caitriona Balfe has been shortlisted for her role as US show ‘Outlander’, Maria Doyle Kennedy’s performance in ‘Corp+Anam’ has ensured her nomination alongside Love/Hate’s Charlie Murphy and Michelle Beamish for ‘An Bronntanas’.

John Connors is shortlisted for his role in ‘Love/Hate’, in the supporting Actor Television category along with Liam Cunningham for ‘Game of Thrones’ as is Stephen Rea for his performance in ‘The Honourable Woman’ and Andrew Scott for ‘Sherlock’. Charlotte Bradley is nominated for ‘An Bronntanas’ alongside Aisling Franciosi for ‘The Fall’; Mary Murray for ‘Love/Hate’ and Charlie Murphy for ‘The Village’.

Next week the Academy will Officially announce the Ceremony Host and the Lifetime Achievement Recipient for 2015 along with partners and sponsors and the Irish Film Board Rising Star Nominees; Irish and international guests and friends of the Academy travelling to Dublin for the night of Celebrations, along with details of exciting new partnerships including Brown Thomas, who this year has become the inaugural official Style Partner of the IFTA Awards and will be giving exclusive consultations and gifting to all of the IFTA 2015 Nominees in the lead up to the gala Awards Ceremony. Brown Thomas Fashion Director Shelly Corkery commented: ‘We are delighted to partner with IFTA as official Style Partner celebrating a year of extraordinary talent on the Irish and International scene.’

View full Nominee List here