The National Film School of IADT has a record number of graduates nominated for IFTA Awards this year.
The NFS, one of the country’s most popular and well respected film schools, has a staggering 25 nominations in total, beating its 2012 record when its alumni accounted for a total of 20 nominations.
Most notably of the 2013 nominations, Suzanne McAuley, series producer on ‘Love/Hate’, is up for TV Drama, while ‘Love/Hate’ itself is nominated in a total of 11 categories.
Other graduates include director Aisling Walsh, nominated for her work on ITV drama ‘Loving Miss Hatto’, and Kieron J Walsh, up for Script for his feature film ‘Jump’. ‘Loving Miss Hatto’ is also up for Costume, Makeup & Hair and Original Score, while ‘Jump’ actors Martin McCann and Charlene McKenna have been nominated for their lead and supporting roles respectively.
‘Ripper Street’, the Irish/UK co-production between Element Pictures and Tiger Aspect and Lookout Point, is also nominated in the Makeup & Hair category, with former NFS student Sharon Doyle up for this award.
The NFS is also represented in the animation categories, with Conor Finnegan’s ‘Fear of Flying’ up for Short Film and Animation.
In addition, three out of the four nominations in the Short Film category and three out of the four nominations in the Editing TV category also went to NFS alumni, while Donald Taylor Black, creative director of the NFS, is himself nominated for his film ‘Skin In the Game’.
‘Skin In the Game’ is up for the George Morrison Feature Documentary Award, along with ‘John Ford: Dreaming the Quiet Man’, ‘Barbaric Genius’ and ‘Mea Maxima Culpa: Silence in the House of God’.
The IFTA 2013 nominations were announced on Wednesday, with 40 categories dedicated to the Irish film and TV industry. The awards will be held on February 9 in Dublin.
In addition to the IFTA nominees list, another NFS graduate, Eamonn O’Neill, was nominated for a BAFTA on Wednesday for his short film ‘I’m Fine Thanks’. It is up against fellow Irish filmmaker Fodhla Cronin O’Reilly’s ‘Head Over Heels’, which she produced, with Timothy Reckart directing.
In the meantime, the NFS continues with its lecture series, most recently holding lectures with Gabriel Byrne and BAFTA-winning makeup designer Neill Gorton (Becoming Jane, Saving Private Ryan).
