2024 Irish Film & Television Academy (IFTA) Awards: ‘Lies We Tell’ Leads; Cillian Murphy, Paul Mescal Among Acting Wins
The 21st Irish Film & Television Academy (IFTA) Awards, which highlight Irish filmmakers, television creators and performers, were held tonight where Pat Collins’ That They May Face The Rising Sun, adapted from John McGahern’s novel about life in rural Ireland, won Best Film in an upset. Despite earning a second best 11 nominations, the top award was its only win.
Lies We Tell, about an orphaned heiress is forced to embrace her family’s dark legacy, led with three wins: for Director Lisa Mulcahy, Lead Actress Agnes O’Casey and Best Script. It came in with the most nominations, 13.
Oscar winner Cillian Murphy repeated his Best Actor win at the Academy Awards for Oppenheimer with a win here for Lead Actor. In the supporting categories, Paul Mescal for All of Us Strangers and Alison Oliver for Saltburn triumphed.
In the three international categories, Best Picture Oscar winner Oppenheimer was named Best International Film, Emma Stone followed her Best Actress Oscar win with a win here and Paul Giamatti won International Actor for The Holdovers.
The craft categories were widely spread out with Barbie (Sound), Poor Things (Cinematography), Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves (VFX), LOLA (Music, Costume Design), A Haunting in Venice (Production Design), Still: A Michael J Fox Movie (Editing), and The Pope’s Exorcist (Hair & Makeup) all earning awards.
In the television drama categories, Kin was the overwhelming winner earning top awards for series, directing, script, lead actress Clare Dune and supporting actress Maria Doyle Kennedy.
Oscar-winning filmmaker Neil Jordan presented renowned Irish actor Stephen Rea with the Irish Academy’s Lifetime Achievement Award, for his outstanding contribution to the Irish and international screen industry, across both film and television. Siobhán Cullen was the winner of this year’s Screen Ireland IFTA Rising Star Award.
Presenters included Oscar-nominated actresses Lily Gladstone and Kerry Condon, as well as Liam Cunningham, Fionnula Flanagan, Caitriona Balfe, Kneecap, Aidan Quinn, Neil Jordan, Patrick Bergin, Alisha Weir, Jason O’Mara, Clinton Liberty, Demi Isaac Oviawe, Alex Murphy, Michael McElhatton, Nadia Forde, Amy-Joyce Hastings, Pollyanna Mcintosh, and Catherine Martin TD, Minister for Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media.
IFTA CEO Áine Moriarty said: “This year’s Irish Academy Award winners represent the best in Irish filmmaking talent both at home and around the world, and we are delighted to honour them here tonight. From blockbuster leading roles to brilliant animated shorts, this year’s awards categories span the breadth of great Irish film and drama.”
The ceremony was held at the Dublin Royal Convention Centre and hosted for the first time by Emmy-winning broadcaster Baz Ashmawy.
Here is the complete list of winners.
Film Categories
Best Film
- Double Blind
- Flora and Son
- Lies We Tell
- LOLA
- That They May Face The Rising Sun – WINNER
- Verdigris
Director – Film
- Double Blind – Ian Hunt-Duffy
- Flora and Son – John Carney
- Lies We Tell – Lisa Mulcahy – WINNER
- LOLA – Andrew Legge
- That They May Face The Rising Sun – Pat Collins
- Verdigris – Patricia Kelly
Script – Film
- Double Blind – Darach McGarrigle
- Flora and Son – John Carney
- Lies We Tell – Elisabeth Gooch – WINNER
- LOLA – Andrew Legge
- That They May Face The Rising Sun – Éamon Little
- Verdigris – Patricia Kelly
Lead Actor – Film
- Andrew Scott – All Of Us Strangers
- David Wilmot – Lies We Tell
- Cillian Murphy – Oppenheimer – WINNER
- Barry Keoghan – Saltburn
- Barry Ward – That They May Face The Rising Sun
- Pierce Brosnan – The Last Rifleman
Lead Actress – Film
- Jessie Buckley – Fingernails
- Eve Hewson – Flora and Son
- Saoirse Ronan – Foe
- Agnes O’Casey – Lies We Tell – WINNER
- Bríd Brennan – My Sailor, My Love
- Geraldine McAlinden – Verdigris
Supporting Actor – Film
- Paul Mescal – All Of Us Strangers – WINNER
- Diarmuid Noyes – Double Blind
- Chris Walley – Lies We Tell
- Kenneth Branagh – Oppenheimer
- Liam Carney – Sunlight
- Lalor Roddy – That They May Face The Rising Sun
Supporting Actress – Film
- Bronagh Gallagher – Dance First
- Catherine Walker – My Sailor, My Love
- Alison Oliver – Saltburn – WINNER
- Ruth McCabe – That They May Face The Rising Sun
- Agnes O’Casey – The Miracle Club
- Maya O’Shea – Verdigris
International Film Award Categories
Best International Film
- All Of Us Strangers
- Oppenheimer – WINNER
- Past Lives
- Poor Things
- Saltburn
- The Holdovers
Best International Actor
- Ryan Gosling – Barbie
- Leonardo DiCaprio – Killers of the Flower Moon
- Bradley Cooper – Maestro
- Mark Ruffalo – Poor Things
- Willem Dafoe – Poor Things
- Paul Giamatti – The Holdovers – WINNER
Best International Actress
- Margot Robbie – Barbie
- Lily Gladstone – Killers of the Flower Moon
- Carey Mulligan – Maestro
- Annette Bening – Nyad
- Greta Lee – Past Lives
- Emma Stone – Poor Things – WINNER
Other Award Categories
George Morrison Feature Documentary
- In The Shadow of Beirut
- Joan Baez: I Am A Noise
- Notes from Sheepland
- Stolen
- The Days of Trees – WINNER
- The Deepest Breath
Live-action Short Film
- Calf – WINNER
- Mud Queen
- Sound & Colour
- The Golden West
- Two for the Road
- Waiting Day
Animation Short Film
- Nana Dee
- The Small Makings of a Storm
- The Presenter
- Wind & The Shadow – WINNER
Craft Categories
Cinematography
- Double Blind – Narayan Van Maele
- Kin – JJ Rolfe
- Lies We Tell – Eleanor Bowman
- Poor Things – Robbie Ryan – WINNER
- That They May Face The Rising Sun – Richard Kendrick
Costume Design
- Double Blind – Gwen Jeffares Hourie
- Lies We Tell – Joanne O’Brien
- LOLA – Lara Campbell – WINNER
- That They May Face The Rising Sun – Louise Stanton
- The Pope’s Exorcist – Lorna Marie Mugan
Production Design
- A Haunting in Venice – John Paul Kelly – WINNER
- Double Blind – Steve Kingston
- Lies We Tell – Caroline Hill
- LOLA – Ferdia Murphy
- That They May Face The Rising Sun – Padraig O’Neill
Hair & Make-up
- Double Blind – Jennia Readman, Madonna Bambino
- Flora and Son – Lyndsey Herron, Barbara Conway
- Lies We Tell – Helen O’Connor, Aitana Silvana
- That They May Face The Rising Sun – Sandra Dunne, Edwina Kelly
- The Pope’s Exorcist – Orla Carroll, Lynn Johnston – WINNER
Sound
- Barbie – Nina Rice – WINNER
- Double Blind – Brendan Rehill, Rob Moore, Peter Blayney
- Evil Dead Rise – Garret Farrell, Peter Albrechtsen, Myk Farmer
- Lies We Tell – Aza Hand, Damien Lynch, Peter Nicell
- Saltburn – Nina Rice, Nina Hartstone, Adam Scrivener
Original Music
- Double Blind – Die Hexen
- Flora and Son – Gary Clark, John Carney
- Lies We Tell – Aza Hand
- LOLA – Neil Hannon – WINNER
- That They May Face The Rising Sun – Irene Buckley, Linda Buckley
Editing
- Double Blind – Colin Campbell
- Lies We Tell – Weronika Kaminska
- LOLA – Colin Campbell
- Still: A Michael J Fox Movie – Michael Harte – WINNER
- The Last Rifleman – John Walters
VFX
- Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves – Kev Cahill, Diana Giogiutti – WINNER
- Evil Dead Rise – Liam Neville, Declan Boyle
- Paradise – Niall McEvoy, Liam Neville
- The Nevers – Ed Bruce, Andrew Barry
Drama Categories
Best Drama
- Blue Lights
- Hidden Assets
- Kin – WINNER
- Northern Lights
- Obituary
- The Woman in the Wall
Director – Drama
- Happy Valley – Fergus O’Brien
- Kin – Christine Molloy & Joe Lawlor
- Kin – Kate Dolan – WINNER
- Northern Lights – Tom Hall
- Obituary – John Hayes
- The Gone – Hannah Quinn
Script – Drama
- Blue Lights – Declan Lawn & Adam Patterson
- Hidden Assets – Peter McKenna
- Kin – Peter McKenna – WINNER
- Northern Lights – Stephen Jones
- Obituary – Ray Lawlor
- The Woman in the Wall – Joe Murtagh
Lead Actor – Drama
- Martin McCann – Blue Lights
- Francis Magee – Kin
- Sam Keeley – Kin
- Michael Smiley – Obituary
- Éanna Hardwicke – The Sixth Commandment – WINNER
- Daryl McCormack – The Woman in the Wall
Lead Actress – Drama
- Sharon Horgan – Best Interests
- Clare Dunne – Kin – WINNER
- Niamh Algar – Malpractice
- Elva Trill – Northern Lights
- Siobhán Cullen – Obituary
- Caitriona Balfe – Outlander
Supporting Actor – Drama
- Richard Dormer – Blue Lights – WINNER
- Jared Harris – Foundation
- Aaron Monaghan – Hidden Assets
- Aidan Gillen – Kin
- Emmett J. Scanlan – Kin
- Simon Delaney – The Woman in the Wall
Supporting Actress – Drama
- Niamh Algar – Culprits
- Cathy Belton – Hidden Assets
- Maria Doyle Kennedy – Kin – WINNER
- Danielle Galligan – Obituary
- Fionnula Flanagan – Sisters
- Hilda Fay – The Woman in the Wall
He is a Rotten Tomatoes-approved critic, accredited by the Cannes Film Festival, Telluride Film Festival, Toronto International Film Festival and more, is a member of the International Cinephile Society (ICS), The Society of LGBTQ Entertainment Critics (GALECA), Hollywood Critics Association (HCA) and the International Press Academy. Among his many achieved goals with AwardsWatch, he has given a platform to underrepresented writers and critics and supplied them with access to film festivals and the industry and calls the Bay Area his home where he lives with his husband and son.
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