Jordan and McPherson to the fore on Ifta shortlists

NEW WORK by Neil Jordan and Conor McPherson, two established Irish talents, dominate the film categories in the nominations for next month’s Irish Film and Television Academy (Ifta) Awards.

A pair of notably lubricious series, historical romp The Tudors and midlands drama Pure Mule, made the biggest impact in the television section.

When the shortlists were announced yesterday, it transpired that Jordan’s Ondine, in which Colin Farrell appears to encounter a mermaid, and McPherson’s The Eclipse, a spooky drama starring Ciarán Hinds, had topped the film standings with eight nominations each.

Interestingly, only one of the best Irish film nominations, Tomm Moore’s lovely animation The Secret of Kells, has yet played commercially in Irish cinemas. The remaining four – Ondine, The Eclipse, Margaret Corkery’s spiky Eamon and John and Kieran Carney’s proudly absurd Zonad – will, however, receive distribution over the next few months.

One of the most highly praised Irish films to be screened at festivals over the last year, Ken Wardop’s His Hers, turned up alongside Alan Gilsenan’s The Yellow Bittern: The Life Times of Liam Clancy in the best feature documentary category.

Darren Healy received a best actor nomination for his role in Brendan Muldowney’s bleak thriller Savage and that film went on to gather a further five nominations. Zonad, in which Simon Delaney’s boozy waster gets mistaken for an alien, also managed an impressive six nods.

Despite receiving a theatrical release, Five Minutes of Heaven, Oliver Hirschbiegel’s tense Northern Irish drama featuring Liam Neeson and James Nesbitt, was submitted as a television piece and went on to secure five nominations, including a mention for Neeson. But The Tudors, an international behemoth, and Pure Mule, a production of Accomplice television, elbowed the TV competition aside to score seven mentions each.

“It’s a tremendous line-up of strong, diverse Irish production for Ifta 2010,” Áine Moriarty, Ifta chief executive, said. “The nominees’ showcase of work reinforces the fact that Ireland has a superb resource of creative talent, despite the difficult Irish economic year.”

Sure enough, a glance down the list reveals Irish screen professionals popping up in an impressive array of international productions. Brendan Gleeson, who won an Emmy for his performance as Winston Churchill in Into the Storm, receives a nomination as best TV actor for the same piece. Saoirse Ronan is up for best film actress for her turn in Peter Jackson’s upcoming The Lovely Bones. Kerry’s Michael Fassbender is mentioned for his unsettling performance in the searing British film Fish Tank.

The odds on the awards offered by Boylesports bookmakers make for diverting reading.

Despite receiving only a few public screenings, Jordan’s Ondine, at an uninteresting 1/2, is favourite for best Irish film. However, Jim Sheridan, whose Iraq war drama Brothers (American, therefore ineligible for best Irish film) opens here in two weeks, has been installed as the favourite for best Irish director.

The best bet? Let the Right One in, the critically acclaimed Swedish vampire drama, has an outside chance of winning best international film at a delicious 8/1. All will be revealed on Saturday, February 20th, during a gala event at the Burlington Hotel.