The IFI has announced the winners of this year’s Audience Awards from the 2023 IFI Documentary Festival.
The Audience Award for Best Feature was presented to The Graceless Age: The Ballad of John Murry.
The film follows the story of American singer-songwriter John Murry who was on the cusp of greatness after the release of his highly acclaimed album, The Graceless Age (2013), when his world fell apart.
The film was directed by Sarah Share (If I Should Fall from Grace: The Shane MacGowan Story), and co-written by Share and David Morton.
Nuala Cunningham (I, Dolours), John Galway, and Aeschylus Poulos (22 Chaser) served as producers.
The Audience Award for Best Irish Short was presented to The Coco Show. Jeff Doyle directed, shot, edited, and produced the short film, which premiered at the Galway Film Fleadh.
The Coco Show follows Craig Coakley, a Muay Thai fighter from Dublin's inner city flats, who gets the chance to fight for a life-changing six-figure contract with the world's biggest sports company, ONE Championship. IFTN caught up with Doyle ahead of the film’s North American premiere at the Newport Beach Film Festival.
The IFI Documentary Festival ran from September 27th to October 1st and showcased 13 feature documentaries from Ireland and around the world, plus the annual Irish Shorts Programme. The festival was supported by RTÉ Supporting the Arts.
