There were few enormous surprises when the Irish Film and Television Academy (Ifta) awards were announced at the Mansion House on Saturday night. Lenny Abrahamson's Room dominated the field to take seven awards including that for best film.
John Crowley's Brooklyn managed two: best lead actress going to Saoirse Ronan, best supporting actress to Jane Brennan.
Both films were nominated for best picture at the Oscars this year and were certain to finish strongly. Jack Reynor took best supporting actor for his turn in John Carney's hit musical Sing Street.
Michael Fassbender won best actor for Steve Jobs.
Rather confusingly, the ceremony honours "film and drama" – by which the organisers mean "film and TV drama" – and there was something of an upending in the small-screen awards. An Klondike, a modestly budgeted Irish-language western screened on TG4, topped the charts with four awards. The more loudly trumpeted (though indifferently received) Rebellion had to settle for just one Ifta: Ruth Bradley for best lead actress.
The organisers will have been disappointed that neither Ronan nor Fassbender, both working abroad, was able to attend, but a starry mass of celebrities still turned out to brave the Siberian chill. Among those turning blue were Andrew Scott, Natalie Dormer, Chris O’Dowd, Victoria Smurfit and Sarah Greene.
Panti Bliss spoke to reporters about the continuing negotiations between the political parties. “Form a f**king government!” Bliss bellowed. “It’s been a month. We are technically in a state of anarchy. This is what anarchy looks like and it’s amazing. I take it all back. Let’s have a benign dictatorship.”
Diaspora award
Bob Geldof, now grey but still proudly hairy, was on hand to present the inaugural Irish Diaspora Award to actor, producer and philanthropist Roma Downey. “This award is for the diaspora,” he told this reporter. “And there’s an element of pride in that, but there’s also an element of shame. Isn’t there? Because it represents economic failure and incompetence.”
Once again, President Michael D Higgins demonstrated an ability to hit the right tone when he presented Liam Neeson – slimmed down to a stick figure for his appearance in Martin Scorsese's upcoming Silence – with the Ifta Outstanding Contribution to Cinema Award. We were all happy to have lived long enough to hear the President intone Neeson's "very particular set of skills" line from Taken.
Film board
The Northern Irish actor took the opportunity to urge the incoming government to increase funding to the
Irish Film Board
, describing the current sums as mere “seed funding”.
In recent years, the Ifta ceremony has garnered an unwanted reputation for technical hitches and logistic misfortune, but, no longer broadcast live, the current bifurcated structure – the remaining TV awards are presented at a later bash – seems to be working with relative efficiency. The speeches were nippy. No boozy chatter carried to the stage. The clips were all in place.
Deirdre O’Kane, hosting in the American style, began with a monologue that paid cheeky, but respectful, tribute to an astonishing awards season for Irish film. “We punched above our weight, unlike Conor McGregor,” she quipped.
I wouldn’t say that to his face.
