Minister for Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media Catherine Martin has today congratulated the Irish Oscar nominees for the upcoming 95th Academy Award ceremony.
Minister Martin, said: "This is a wonderful day for the Irish film industry with such a record number of Oscar nominations. An Cailín Ciúin and the Banshees of Inisherin showcase Ireland’s culture, scenery and creative talent at its best. I congratulate all of the Irish nominees and wish them well on Oscar night March 12th 2023. It is an historic day for the Irish language and I look forward to Oscar night when the world will hear the Irish language spoken in a nominated film.”
Minister of State with special responsibility for the Gaeltacht, Patrick O' Donovan T.D. welcomed today's nominations and in particular, the nomination of An Cailín Ciúin for Best International Feature Film. “We are all so proud to see an original feature film in the Irish language being recognised at the highest level and we hope to see many more Irish language projects following in their footsteps as a result of the national and international success garnered from An Cailín Ciúin”.
The Banshees of Inisherin received 9 Academy Awards nominations and Minister Martin congratulated actors Brendan Gleeson, Colin Farrell, Kerry Condon, Barry Keoghan and Director, Martin McDonagh on their nominations. The film is already being regarded as a classic and enjoyed success at the Golden Globes recently. Great credit is due to Martin McDonagh and all the cast and crew for the portrayal of island life in this dark comedy.
Minister Martin also congratulated Colm Bairéad, Director, and the team behind An Cailín Ciúin (The Quiet Girl) on the nomination for an Oscar in the Best International Film category. The Film already received an award at the prestigious Berlin Film Festival. The Minister said sherecognised the importance of the Irish language on screen as a reflection and promotion of Irish culture to audiences at home and abroad.
Minister Martin added: “Irish language projects represent a wonderful opportunity with the increase in global popularity of high-end local language productions.”
The Minister commented that films such as The Banshees of Inisherin and An Cailín Ciúin and many, many others productions are made in Ireland because of funding from the Section 481 film tax relief. The benefits to the industry that result from the upskilling required under Section 481 are very clear for all to see.
“Ireland offers breath-taking locations offering historic and natural beauty making it an attractive base for film locations.
“Movies like these provide a tangible economic benefit to our country, through jobs, skills development, regional development and production spend on local goods and services.”
Minister Martin also expressed her delight on hearing that ‘Normal People’ actor, Paul Mescal, has been nominated for an Oscar for Best Actor in the film ‘Aftersun’. Originally from Maynooth, Mr Mescal has secured the nomination for his portrayal of a troubled father ‘Calum’ in this film written and directed by Charlotte Wells.
Minister Martin also congratulated the other Irish nominees, Richard Baneham for his nomination for Visual Effects on 'Avatar' and Jonathan Redmond, Best Achievement in Film Editing on 'Elvis'.
The Minister said that this has been high achieving year for Irish film production and Irish talent and noted that there will be an extra level of excitement at this year’s Oscars.
ENDS