The Irish talent has earned the award for his second feature film, which stars Shane Murray-Corcoran (Stitches) and Iseult Casey (The Middle Finger), with actors Ardal O’Hanlon (Handsome Devil) and Pat Shortt (Smalltown) in supporting roles.
The project which is produced by Fionn Greger (The Crypt) follows the story of young Irish couple as they embark on a road trip from Ireland to the UK as a result of an unplanned pregnancy.
2017 marks the third year of the festival, which features an array of screenings in both Sydney and Melbourne, running until April 8th. Other Irish titles include ‘A Date for Mad Mary’ (Darren Thornton), ‘The Young Offenders’ (Peter Foott), ‘Bobby Sands: 66 Days’ (Brendan J. Byrne) and Atlantic (Risteard O'Domhnaill).
‘Twice Shy’ follows Ryan’s debut feature ‘Trampoline’ which followed his experience as a camera intern on independent films such as Todd Solondz’s ‘Dark Horse’ and Steve McQueen’s ‘Shame’. It premiered to a sold-out audience at last year's Galway Film Fleadh and recently screened at the Dingle International Film Festival
Tom Ryan, Director:
“It’s such a thrill to win an award like this. There was some fantastic competition at the festival so it's a huge privilege to be this year's recipient and it’s great to see that the film, with such an important message, is making an impact on audiences worldwide.”
Fionn Greger, Producer:
“It’s a fantastic achievement for Tom to win this award and it’s a credit to him as the director of the film. I hope this continues to progress the film as we now prepare for our next screening, which will be at the marche in Cannes in May.”
