John Michael McDonagh's comedy The Guard, already the most successful independently released Irish film at the domestic box office, could be in for further acclaim at the ninth annual Irish Film and Television Awards (Iftas), next Saturday.
The film is up for nine awards, including best picture and best director, though two other films are also in contention for nine awards: Stella Days, Thaddeus O'Sullivan's drama about a cinema in rural Ireland, and the Oscar-nominated Albert Nobbs, starring Glenn Close as a woman forced to cross-dress in 19th-century Ireland.
The performers competing for best lead actor in a film are Michael Fassbender ( Shame), Brendan Gleeson ( The Guard), Ciarán Hinds ( Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy) and Martin Sheen ( Stella Days); the best lead actress race is between Aoife Duffin ( Behold The Lamb), Antonia Campbell Hughes ( The Other Side of Sleep), Marcella Plunkett ( Stella Days)and Saoirse Ronan ( Hanna).
RTÉ's gangland drama Love/Hate, which drew an average audience of 659,000 last year, is nominated in 10 categories, including best actor for Aidan Gillen, the show's star. Gillen is also nominated for his supporting role in the HBO series Game of Thrones, filmed in Northern Ireland, which is nominated in four other categories.
The Irish actor Chris O'Dowd is nominated in the rising-star category and for best lead television actor for his role in the BBC drama The Crimson Petal and the White, as well as for best supporting role for his appearance in Bridesmaids, the top-grossing film in Ireland last year.
The awards, which will be hosted by the actor Simon Delaney and held at the Convention Centre Dublin, will also honour Fionnula Flanagan with the Ifta lifetime achievement award.
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