‘Whistleblower’, ‘Seacht’, ‘In the Name of the Fada’ and 'Waveriders' are among the ten Irish productions to have scooped accolades at this year’s Celtic Media Awards held in Caernarfon in North Wales from March 25 - 27 2009.
A total of 18 Bronze Torc Awards were presented during the three-day Festival to recognise excellence within the film, TV, radio and digital media industries in Scotland, Ireland, Wales, Cornwall and Brittany.
On the opening day of the 30th annual festival, four awards went to productions from Ireland including; ‘Na Dódaí’ produced by Imagine Media (Education); ‘Ceolchuairt: Nua Eabhrac’, produced by Magamedia (Entertainment); feature doc ‘Waveriders,’ a co-production between Inis Films and Besom Productions (Sport), and ‘Patrick McCabe: Blood Relations’ by Midas Productions (Arts).
Laura Ni Cheallaigh from Magamedia, winners in the Entertainment category said: "We are particularly thrilled to have won a Celtic Media Festival award as it is recognition of the series' cultural value and vitality. While the Celtic nations have always boasted a deep heritage of music, song & dance, with 'Ceolchuairt', we aimed to interrogate that tradition to see how Irish artists could embrace other world music genres, and the results were as surprising as they were delighting."
In the second presentation of awards, Ireland won in the Short Drama category for ‘Rearview’ produced by Alice Productions, the prize for best Factual Entertainment production went to Peer Pressure Productions for ‘In the Name of the Fada’ and Saffron Pictures won the award for Feature Length Drama for ‘Whistleblower’.
Whistleblower Producer Siobhán Bourke said: "We at Saffron Pictures are delighted to have won in the Feature length Drama Category of the Celtic Media Festival Awards. The reaction of the public to Whisteblower was fantastic. Many viewers expressed their admiration for the real midwife who blew the whistle. Other reaction commented on the authenticity of the experiences portrayed in the drama and acknowledged the tragedy of the personal stories told. Media reaction to the drama was extensive with significant coverage in all main newspapers, radio stations and TV news and current affairs programmes. Whistleblower achieved a 45% audience share for RTE One."
The third presentation of awards announced BBC Radio Ulster’s ‘Tears, Texts and Telephone Calls,’ won in the Radio Documentary category and in the Young People category for the Stirling Film & Television / TG4 / Tyrone Productions / Eo Teilifís picked up the award for their Irish language drama series ‘Seacht.’ Radio Station of the Year went to RTÉ Raidio na Gaeltachta.
A total of 414 Award entries were received this year, with a shortlist comprising 21 entries each from Scotland and Wales, 20 from Ireland, four from Cornwall and three from Brittany. Festival Chairman and RTÉ Director General, Cathal Goan, said:
“The standard and level of entries this year was as high as ever, proving that 2008 has been another extremely successful year for media practitioners across the Celtic nations. This year’s shortlist and winners once again celebrates broadcasting excellence and talent, and demonstrates how the media industries can flourish and develop hand in hand with Celtic heritage, language and culture.”
For further information visit www.celticmediafestival.co.uk.
