Irish Film & Television Academy (IFTA) Nominations: ‘Christy,’ ‘Saipan’ Lead with ‘Blue Moon,’ Bugonia,’ ‘One Battle After Another’ Among International Nods
The Irish Film & Television Academy (IFTA) unveiled the nominations for the 2026 IFTA Awards, honoring exceptional achievements in Film.
The Cork-set drama Christy (not to be confused with the American film starring Sydney Sweeney), which leads the film categories with 14 nominations. Its nominations include debut feature director Brendan Canty, first-time screenplay nominee Alan O’Gorman, and first-time acting nominees Daniel Power, Emma Willis and Jamie Forde.
Saipan received 12 nominations including two Lead Actor nominations for Éanna Hardwicke and Steve Coogan as warring football icons Roy Keane and Mick McCarthy, and further nominations for Northern Irish directors Lisa Barros D’Sa and Glenn Leyburn, composers David Holmes and Brian Irvine, and more.
Blue Moon, in which US director Richard Linklater uses Ireland’s studio and crew to recreate the magic of mid-century Manhattan, tells the story of songwriter Lorenz Harte. The film has 8 nominations, with Irish talent nominated across Costume Design, Production Design and other craft, along with Supporting Actor nominee Andrew Scott, with Ethan Hawke and Margaret Qualley getting a nod in the International categories.
With 7 nominations, Four Mothers sees filmmaking brothers Darren and Colin Thornton return to the IFTAs after the Best Film win in 2017 for A Date for Mad Mary, with a touching and hilarious family drama following a successful author balancing his book tour with caring for his elderly mother – and three of his friends’ mothers too. The iconic Fionnula Flanagan is nominated for Lead Actress for her performance, with Scottish leading man James McArdle nominated in the International category.
Award winners will be announced at the 23rd anniversary IFTA Awards Ceremony taking place on Friday, February 20th, 2026at the Dublin Royal Convention Centre, hosted for the second year running by comedian, actor and broadcaster Kevin McGahern. Here are the nominees.
BEST FILM
Aontas
Blue Moon
Christy
Four Mothers
Saipan
Steve
DIRECTOR – FILM
Lisa Barros D’Sa, Glenn Leyburn – Saipan
Brendan Canty – Christy
Myrid Carten – A Want in Her
Lorcan Finnegan – The Surfer
Ruán Magan – Báite
Edwin Mullane, Adam O’Keeffe – Horseshoe
SCRIPT FILM
Sarah Gordon, Damian McCann – Aontas
Maggie O’Farrell, Chloé Zhao – Hamnet
Alan O’Gorman – Christy
Sheena Lambert – Báite
Darren Thornton, Colin Thornton – Four Mothers
Enda Walsh – Die My Love
LEAD ACTOR – FILM
Steve Coogan – Saipan
Daniel Day-Lewis – Anemone
Colin Farrell – Ballad of a Small Player
Éanna Hardwicke – Saipan
Cillian Murphy – Steve
Daniel Power – Christy
LEAD ACTRESS – FILM
Jessie Buckley – Hamnet
Carolyn Bracken – Horseshoe
Carrie Crowley – Aontas
Fionnula Flanagan – Four Mothers
Eleanor O’Brien – Báite
Fiona Shaw – Hot Milk
SUPPORTING ACTOR – FILM
Liam Cunningham – Palestine 36
Jamie Forde – Christy
Paul Mescal – Hamnet
Diarmuid Noyes – Christy
Seán T. Ó Meallaigh – Aontas
Andrew Scott – Blue Moon
SUPPORTING ACTRESS – FILM
Brid Brennan – Aontas
Kerry Condon – F1
Sarah Greene – Trad
Dearbhla Molloy – Four Mothers
Kerry Condon – Train Dreams
Emma Willis – Christy
NTERNATIONAL FILM
Bugonia
Hamnet
One Battle After Another
Palestine ’36
Sentimental Value
Sinners
INTERNATIONAL ACTOR
Leonardo DiCaprio – One Battle After Another
Ethan Hawke – Blue Moon
Michael B Jordan – Sinners
James McArdle – Four Mothers
Sean Penn – One Battle After Another
Jesse Plemons – Bugonia
INTERNATIONAL ACTRESS
Chase Infiniti – One Battle After Another
Jennifer Lawrence – Die My Love
Margaret Qualley – Blue Moon
Renate Reinsve – Sentimental Value
Emma Stone – Bugonia
Teyana Taylor – One Battle After Another
CINEMATOGRAPHY
Bugonia – Robbie Ryan
Christy – Colm Hogan
Die My Love – Seamus McGarvey
Saipan – Piers McGrail
Severance – Suzie Lavelle
CASTING
Christy – Amy Rowan
Four Mothers – Louise Kiely
The Rainmaker – Emma Gunnery
Ready Or Not – Maureen Hughes
Saipan – Aine O’Sullivan
COSTUME DESIGN
Blue Moon – Consolata Boyle
Christy – Hannah Bury
Four Mothers – Joan O’Cleary
Saipan – Lara Campbell
Video Nasty – Joanne O’Brien
EDITING
Blue Lights – Helen Sheridan
Christy – Allyn Quigley
House of Guinness – Ben Yeates
Saipan – John Murphy, Gavin Buckley
The Surfer – Tony Cranstoun
Sculpted by Aimee MAKE-UP & HAIR
Blue Moon – Linda Gannon, Liz Byrne
Christy – Jennie Readman, Edwina Kelly
Saipan – Polly McKay
Trespasses – Natalie Reid
Wednesday – Lynn Johnston
ORIGINAL MUSIC
Aontas – Daithí Ó Drónaí
Báite – Eimear Noone, Craig Stuart Garfinkle
Christy – Daithí Ó Drónaí
Saipan – David Holmes, Brian Irvine
Video Nasty – Die Hexen
PRODUCTION DESIGN
Blue Moon – Susie Cullen, Kevin Downey
Christy – Martin Goulding
Saipan – John Leslie
Wednesday – Philip Murphy, Neville Gaynor
Video Nasty – Tara O’Reilly
SOUND
Anemone – Steve Fanagan
Blue Moon – Hugh Fox
Saipan – Tim Harrison, Andrew Graham, Paul Maynes
The Surfer – Aza Hand
Video Nasty – Patrick Downey
VFX
Anemone – Tom Fagan
Foundation – Ed Bruce, Andrew Barry
House of Guinness – Eoin O’Sullivan, David Sewell
One Battle After Another – Ed Bruce, Amrei Bronnenmayer
GEORGE MORRISON FEATURE DOCUMENTARY
A Want in Her
The Essence of Eva
Listen To The Land Speak
Sanatorium
Testimony
Útoipe Cheilteach
Redbreast SHORT FILM AWARD
The Ban
No Mean City
No Time Wasters
Nostalgie
Punt
Three Keenings
ANIMATED SHORT
Éiru
Inside, The Valley Sings
Rerooted
Retirement Plan
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), Critics Choice Association (CCA), San Francisco Bay Area Film Critics Circle (SFBAFCC) 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.
- Houston Film Critics Society (HFCS) Awards: ‘Sinners’ Set Record with 8 Wins - January 20, 2026
- Irish Film & Television Academy (IFTA) Nominations: ‘Christy,’ ‘Saipan’ Lead with ‘Blue Moon,’ Bugonia,’ ‘One Battle After Another’ Among International Nods - January 20, 2026
- Vancouver Film Critics Circle (VFCC) Nominations: ‘One Battle After Another,’ ‘Hamnet’ Lead - January 20, 2026
Houston Film Critics Society (HFCS) Awards: ‘Sinners’ Set Record with 8 Wins 
Irish Film & Television Academy (IFTA) Nominations: ‘Christy,’ ‘Saipan’ Lead with ‘Blue Moon,’ Bugonia,’ ‘One Battle After Another’ Among International Nods 
Vancouver Film Critics Circle (VFCC) Nominations: ‘One Battle After Another,’ ‘Hamnet’ Lead 
Cinema Audio Society (CAS) Nominations: ‘F1,’ ‘Frankenstein,’ ‘The Pitt,’ ‘Stranger Things’ and More