The Irish scooped two awards at last night’s Academy Awards with ‘Stutterer’ – from Dublin filmmaker Ben Cleary – winning Best Live Action Short Film and Brie Larson winning Best Actress for Lenny Abrahamson’s ‘Room’.
In what was an unprecedented year for the Irish industry, Irish projects and talent received nine nominations at this year’s Academy Awards. Irish films ‘Room’ and ‘Brooklyn’ were both nominated for Best Picture and there were also nominations for Lenny Abrahamson (Best Director – ‘Room’), Saoirse Ronan (Best Actress – ‘Brooklyn’), Brie Larson (Best Actress – ‘Room’), Michael Fassbender (Best Actor – ‘Steve Jobs’), Emma Donoghue (Best Adapted Screenplay – ‘Room’), Nick Hornby (Best Adapted Screenplay – ‘Brooklyn’) and Benjamin Cleary (Best Live Action Short Film – ‘Stutterer’).
Following on from universal acclaim and BAFTA, SAG and Golden Globe Awards, Brie Larson won the Academy Award for Best Actress for her performance as a young woman held captive in a room with her young son in Lenny Abrahamson’s ‘Room’.
Ben Cleary’s ‘Stutterer’ also won the Oscar for Best Live Action Short Film. The film is written, directed and edited by the Dublin filmmaker in his directorial debut. Produced by UK-based Bare Golly Films on a budget of just £5,000, ‘Stutterer’ tells the tale of a lonely typographer with a cruel speech impediment but an eloquent inner voice who must face his greatest fear when a woman he met online turns up unexpectedly.
Check out our interview with Cleary last month here.
‘Spotlight’, from Irish/American director Tom McCarthy, won Best Picture on the night while there was also a second consecutive Best Director Oscar for Alejandro G. Iñárritu for ‘The Revenant’. Leonardo Di Caprio won his first Best Actor Oscar (also for ‘The Revenant’) while Mark Rylance won Best Supporting Actor for ‘Bridge of Spies’ and Alicia Vikander won for Best Supporting Actress for ‘The Danish Girl’.
Check out IFTN's interview with Tom McCarthy, director of 'Spotlight' here.
