An event to celebrate the 20th anniversary of the Oscar-winning film The Crying Game was held in Dublin last night.
Neil Jordan, an Oscar winner in 1993 for his screenplay of the movie, attended the special screening at the Light House Cinema which was hosted by at the Irish Film and Television Academy (Ifta). After the screening, Jordan, who also directed the film, participated in a discussion of his work facilitated by Emmy-winning director Dearbhla Walsh.
The Crying Game was released in 1992 and explored themes of politics, sexuality, gender and race, capturing the attention of audiences and critics across the world. It starred Irish actor Stephen Rea as Fergus, an IRA volunteer who strikes up an unlikely friendship with kidnapped British army soldier Jody (Forest Whitaker). When the hostage situation goes wrong, Fergus flees to London seeking out Jody’s lover, Dil (Jaye Davidson).
The film won 26 international awards including the Oscar for Best Original Screenplay for Jordan – one of six Academy Award nominations for the film in 1993, which also picked up honours at Bafta, PGA and European Film Awards.
Jordan said it was “one of those films nobody wanted to make” because of its themes of terrorism and sexuality. But “the strength of the ideas behind the movie drove it forward”.
