Fall marks the beginning of the film industry’s annual Awards Season when films jockey for position with various industry awards and influential critics’ lists to take a run at the grand prize: The Oscars.
That award season starts right here in Canada at the Toronto International Film Festival. The festival’s top prize, the TIFF Grolsch People’s Choice Award, signals a serious contender and often the eventual Best Picture winner. Films such as American Beauty, Slumdog Millionaire, The King’s Speech and Twelve Years a Slave went from winning the award to eventual Oscar fame.
This year the race is, however, a little extra special as two films which were created through partnerships between Irish and Canadian companies are right in the thick of it all!
Room, which is currently in theatres throughout Canada took home the People’s Choice Award at TIFF this year and has been gaining steam ever since. Based on the critically acclaimed novel by Dublin born author (and now London Ontario resident) Emma Donoghue, Room tells the story of five-year-old Jack and his mother who, after they escape from the enclosed surroundings that Jack has known his entire life, make a thrilling discovery: the outside world. Irish director Lenny Abrahamson, actress Brie Larson and the nine year old Vancouver born actor Jacob Tremblay have all received serious recognition for their work. The film was shot in Toronto and was made through a partnership of Dublin based Element Pictures and Toronto based No Trace Camping Productions.
Room is nominated for four Oscars: Best Picture, Best Director (Lenny Abrahamson) Best Actress (Bree Larson) and Best Adapted Screenplay (Emma Donoghue).
Brooklyn is another film seriously in the mix this award season. Based on another acclaimed novel, in this case written by County Wexford born Colm Tóibín. In Brooklyn, Montreal stands in for 1950s era Brooklyn. The film was produced by Montreal based Item 7 Films in partnership with the Irish producers at Parallel Films. Irish actor Domhnall Gleeson delivers a fanatic performance but it is County Carlow’s Saoirse Ronan’s performance as a young woman who must choose between her new home in the States and the home she left behind in Ireland (not to mention the men she loves in both) that is generating serious notice. Anyone whose family left home for a new life can easily identify with her struggles and triumphs.
Brooklyn is nominated for three nominations: Best Picture, Best Actress (Saoirse Ronan) and Best Adapted Screenplay (Nick Hornby).
These two fantastic films show that Canadian and Irish creativity and talent can give Hollywood more than a run for its money. Hopefully, you will be able to treat yourselves as both of these films are still in theatres across Canada and decide if you think they are contenders!
But let us not forget the final Irish film nomination! The Stutterer written and directed by Benjamin Cleary is nominated in the Best Short Film Category. While the focus is often on the Best Picture and Acting awards, film industry insiders know that the Best Short Film category is where you can see some of the talent of the future.
With all of these great Irish films, and the many others which are travelling the world through Film Festivals (including my own Toronto Irish Film Festival which runs March 4-6 at the TIFF Bell Lightbox), the Irish film Industry is clearly firing on all cylinders!
