Oscar-nominated Dublin director Lenny Abrahamson is to be honoured at the Oscar Wilde Awards, the annual pre-Academy Awards bash recognising achievements by Irish people and others in the dramatic arts.

Abrahamson, shortlisted for best director Oscar for Room, joins Cork actress Sarah Greene, talk-show host James Corden and Star Wars: The Force Awakens star Daisy Ridley at the February 25 ceremony. It will be hosted by Star Wars director JJ Abrams, whose wife is Irish-American, and held at the headquarters of his Bad Robot production company in Santa Monica.

It has been a career-transforming 12 months for Abrahamson, widely acclaimed for his taut direction of Room (adapted from the novel by Emma Donoghue). While he will already be familiar to Irish cinema-goers as director of Adam and Paul, Garage and What Richard Did, with Room the 49-year-old has forged a reputation as one of the most talented film-makers of his generation.

The Oscar Wilde Awards acknowledge musical as well as cinematic accomplishment and this year there will be performances by Snow Patrol and Roisin O.

“While Abrahamson was known in Ireland and certain film circles, it is great to see him get this deserved recognition on an international stage,” said Trina Vargo, founder of the US-Ireland Alliance which runs the event. “We look forward to celebrating his success.”

She added that, while the profile of the Oscar Wilde Awards has grown over its 11 year history, the US-Ireland Alliance was determined to preserve its intimate and informal nature.

"Bigger is not necessarily better. We’re not interested in having a thousand people in a hotel ballroom. Guests like this event because it is a unique opportunity for creative individuals to meet each other and talk, honour great work and enjoy great music. Relationships and creative collaborations have resulted.”