Third time really is the charm for Cine4 scheme that openly stated Oscar desires

The risk with openly stating your ambitions is that you can look silly when they fail to come off. Such an outcome is not, however, the fate of TG4.

It has talked about vying to be in contention for the best international feature film Oscar ever since it pushed to set up Cine4, a three-legged funding partnership between the broadcaster, Fís Éireann/Screen Ireland and the Broadcasting Authority of Ireland.

The mission of Cine4 is to develop feature films in the Irish language that encourage visual flair and high-production values – as much as possible on modest budgets – while potentially bothering Oscar voters.

For director general Alan Esslemont, who initially approached Screen Ireland about establishing Cine4, the scheme sprang from his belief that high-prestige cinema could form part of “status planning” for the Irish language. Awards tend to help with the prestige factor. In an August 2021 virtual briefing, TG4 executives were positively ebullient about the pipeline of Cine4 titles and admitted they were “living in hope” of an Oscar shortlisting.

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Well, you have to love it when a plan comes together so quickly. At only the third time of trying, a Cine4 film has made the 15-strong Academy Award shortlist with Colm Bairéad’s An Cailín Ciúin, a film of immense poignancy that has already proven both a critical and commercial hit.

The best international feature film is fiercely competitive, with 93 countries submitting entries this year. Films that are otherwise acclaimed often do not make the cut. Indeed, only one Irish-made film has previously made the shortlist, Paddy Breathnach’s Viva in 2015, though its language was Spanish, not Irish.

But TG4′s hope was not misplaced. The question now is whether An Cailín Ciúin can join much-tipped films such as South Korea’s Decision to Leave, Belgium’s Close and Germany’s All Quiet on the Western Front among the five Oscar nominees when they are revealed on January 24th.

But Ireland is already a winner in this story. Before Cine4 there were too many years when the country had no submission to make. The success of An Cailín Ciúin should guarantee that doesn’t happen again.