Iftas 2021: Normal People, Smother and Dating Amber top nominations

The nominations for the 2021 Iftas – the Irish Film and Television Academy awards – in the film and TV drama categories have been unveiled. David Freyne's Dating Amber, a charming comedy starring Fionn O'Shea and Lola Petticrew, topped the film chart, with eight nominations. In TV drama, Normal People, the hit adaptation of Sally Rooney's novel, scooped up a staggering 15 nominations.

The Covid crisis offered challenges to the Irish production and exhibition sectors, but there was sufficient activity to generate six worthy nominees for best film. Joining Dating Amber in that race are Paddy Slattery's Broken Law, a hard-hitting urban drama; Phyllida Lloyd's Herself, a tale of domestic abuse written by and starring Clare Dunne; Lorcan Finnegan's Vivarium, an acclaimed horror that premiered in Cannes two years ago; Cathy Brady's Wildfire, an intense drama from the border counties and – among the most acclaimed Irish films of recent years – Tomm Moore and Ross Stewart's Oscar-nominated animation Wolfwalkers. There is sometimes a bias against animation from awards bodies, but Cartoon Saloon, the Kilkenny-based producer of Wolfwalkers, did take the best film prize in 2015 for Song of the Sea. So it must be a contender.

Iftas 2021: Nora-Jane Noone and Nika McGuigan in Wildfire

There is a poignant flavour to the best-actress competition, with Nika McGuigan receiving a posthumous nomination for her coruscating performance in Wildfire. McGuigan, daughter of the boxer Barry McGuigan, died in 2019 at the age of 33. Her costar Nora-Jane Noone is also nominated. Premiered at last year's Toronto International Film Festival, Wildfire has not yet been released in this territory. Best actress is fiercely competitive, with Jessie Buckley, intense in Charlie Kaufman's I'm Thinking of Ending Things; Lola Petticrew, touching in Dating Amber; and Clare Dunne, heart-rending in Herself, also vying for the Ifta.

Ciarán Hinds, up for The Man in the Hat; Fionn O'Shea from Dating Amber; Gabriel Byrne, nominated for Death of a Ladies' Man; Moe Dunford, tough in Knuckledust, and Tristan Heanue, eye-catching in Broken Law, compete for best actor.

Denied her customary slot at the Oscars, Saoirse Ronan has secured a place among the best-supporting-actress nominees for her turn as a fossil hunter in the lesbian romance Ammonite.

Nobody will be surprised at the avalanche of nominations for Normal People. Emerging in April of last year, the series, starring Paul Mescal and Daisy Edgar-Jones, became the defining hit of lockdown. Mescal, who won a Bafta earlier this month for the role, is one of four Irish actors nominated at the domestic event. Fionn O'Shea, Desmond Eastwood and Sarah Greene are all up in supporting categories. The former Oscar nominee Lenny Abrahamson is mentioned as best director for the series. Smother, the hit whodunit, also did well, picking up a thumping 11 nominations.

The George Morrison Feature Documentary Award features an especially strong line-up this year. Finding Jack Charlton nods to the nation's favourite Englishman. Phil Lynott: Songs for While I'm Away tells the story of that rock poet's struggles. Pat Collins's Henry Glassie: Field Work looks at a renowned folklorist. Breaking Out examines the late musician Fergus O'Farrell. The 8th is a terrific treatment of the campaign to repeal The Eighth Amendment. Tomorrow Is Saturday treats the Irish artist Sean Hillen with charm and delicacy. Any would be a worthy winner.

Iftas 2021: Dating Amber is nominated in eight categories

“This year’s nominations are an incredible reflection of the high-calibre talent of Irish filmmakers, who are producing world-class standards of production and storytelling on screen,” Áine Moriarty, Ifta’s chief executive, says. “The Irish academy is proud to showcase and acknowledge their great achievements. This past year and a half has been difficult for everyone across the globe, and it’s heartening now to see things opening back up, including our cinemas nationwide, and we urge everyone to go see this incredible array of movies on the big screen near you. Cinema is above all a communal experience.”

Ifta shows have been erratically spaced in recent years. There was no ceremony in 2019. The awards for work released in 2018 and 2019 were presented at a virtual ceremony in October 2020. This year’s show, again a virtual event, will be broadcast on Virgin Media One on Sunday, July 4th.

IFTAS 2021: THE NOMINEES

FILM CATEGORIES

Best film

Broken Law
Dating Amber
Herself
Vivarium
Wildfire
Wolfwalkers

Director film

Cathy Brady – Wildfire
David Freyne – Dating Amber
Lorcan Finnegan – Vivarium
Paddy Slattery – Broken Law
Tomm Moore and Ross Stewart – Wolfwalkers

Script film

Cathy Brady – Wildfire
Clare Dunne and Malcolm Campbell – Herself
David Freyne – Dating Amber
Paddy Slattery – Broken Law
Will Collins – Wolfwalkers

Lead actor film

Ciarán Hinds – The Man In The Hat
Fionn O'Shea – Dating Amber
Gabriel Byrne – Death of a Ladies Man
Moe Dunford – Knuckledust
Tristan Heanue – Broken Law

Lead actress film

Clare Dunne – Herself
Jessie Buckley – I'm Thinking of Ending Things
Lola Petticrew – Dating Amber
Nika McGuigan – Wildfire
Nora-Jane Noone – Wildfire

Supporting actor film

Barry Ward – Dating Amber
Brian Gleeson – Death of a Ladies Man
Colm Meaney – Pixie
Conleth Hill – Herself
Ned Dennehy – Undergods

Supporting actress film

Ally Ni Chiarain – Broken Law
Kathy Kiera Clarke – A Bend in the River
Molly McCann – Herself
Saoirse Ronan – Ammonite
Sharon Horgan – Dating Amber

DRAMA CATEGORIES

Best drama

Blood Season 2
Dead Still
Line of Duty Season 6
Normal People
Smother
Vikings Season 6

Director drama

Dathaí Keane – Smother
Dearbhla Walsh – Fargo
Imogen Murphy – Dead Still
Lenny Abrahamson – Normal People
Steve St. Leger – Vikings Season 6

Script drama

Declan Lawn and Adam Patterson – The Salisbury Poisonings
John Morton – Dead Still
Kate O'Riordan – Smother
Lisa McGee – The Deceived
Sally Rooney – Normal People

Lead actor drama

Adrian Dunbar – Line of Duty Season 6
Brendan Gleeson – The Comey Rule
James Nesbitt – Bloodlands
Michael Smiley – Dead Still
Paul Mescal – Normal People

Lead actress drama

Aisling Franciosi – Black Narcissus
Catherine Walker – The Deceived
Dervla Kirwan – Smother
Eve Hewson – Behind Her Eyes
Niamh Algar – Raised By Wolves

Supporting actor drama

Andrew Scott – His Dark Materials
Colm Meaney – Gangs of London
Desmond Eastwood – Normal People
Éanna Hardwicke – Smother
Fionn O'Shea – Normal People

Supporting actress drama

Fiona Shaw – Killing Eve
Gemma-Leah Devereux – Smother
Nicola Coughlan – Bridgerton
Sarah Greene – Normal People
Seána Kerslake – Smother

DOCUMENTARY AND SHORT FILM CATEGORIES

Feature documentary

Breaking Out
Finding Jack Charlton
Henry Glassie: Field Work
Phil Lynott: Songs for While I'm Away
The 8th
Tomorrow is Saturday

Short film

Five Letters to the Stranger Who Will Dissect My Brain
Flicker
Kathleen Was Here
My Other Suit Is Human
Rough
The Invisible Boy

Short animation

Gunter Falls in Love
Her Song
The Dead Hands of Dublin
The Voyage
Zog and the Flying Doctors

CRAFT CATEGORIES

Cinematography

Cathal Watters – Smother
Ciaran Tanham – Dead Still
James Mather – Here are the Young Men
Kate McCullough – Normal People
Suzie Lavelle – Normal People

Costume

Aisling Wallace Byrne – Here are the Young Men
Joan O'Clery – Dating Amber
Leonie Prendergast – Gretel & Hansel
Lorna Marie Mugan – Normal People
Triona Lillis – Smother

Editing

Colin Campbell – Here are the Young Men
Gráinne Gavigan – Dead Still
Nathan Nugent – Normal People
Tony Cranstoun – Vivarium
Úna Ní Dhonghaíle – Misbehaviour

Production design

John Leslie – Son
Lucy van Lonkhuyzen – Normal People
Philip Murphy – Vivarium
Ray Ball – Sea Fever
Tamara Conboy – Herself

Sound

Aza Hand and Patrick Drummond – Son
Hugh Fox, Fionán Higgins and Mark Henry – Smother
Kieran Horgan and Brendan Rehill – Phil Lynott: Songs for While I'm Away
Patrick Drummond, Aza Hand, Katie O'Mahony and Adrian Conway – Here are the Young Men
Steve Fanagan, Niall Brady, and Niall O Sullivan – Normal People

Make up and hair

Jennie Readman and Niamh O'Loan – Vivarium
Linda Gannon Foster and Jennifer Hegarty – Dead Still
Linda Gannon Foster and Liz Byrne – Gretel & Hansel
Sandra Kelly and Sharon Doyle – Normal People
Siobhan Harper-Ryan – I Hate Suzie

Score

Aza Hand – Son
Colm Mac Con Iomaire – A Bend in the River
John McPhillips – Smother
Ray Harman – Blood Season 2
Stephen Rennicks – Normal People

VFX

Jim O'Hagan and Ed Bruce – WandaVision
Ed Bruce – Shadow and Bone
Ed Bruce – Kidding