With the incredible talent that is brewing in Ireland's media circuit, we certainly don't envy the decision making made by the IFB and IFTA but they have chosen 4 excellent and worthy candidates for the 2016 'Rising Star Award'.
The 2016 Nominees are:
- Rebecca Daly (Writer/Director)
- Alex Fegen (Writer/Director)
- Stephen Fingleton (Writer/Director)
- Barry Ward (Actor)
Rebecca Daly has done outstanding work in directing and writing the confounding film Mammal starring Oscar-nominee Rachel Griffiths and Barry Keoghan.

Alex Fegen is the mastermind behind the provoking, moving and resonant documentaries The Irish Pub and Older Than Ireland.

Stephen Fingleton gave us the chilling dystopian Irish thriller The Survivalist which has been on the festival touring circuit making waves.

Barry Ward has been grafting out an impressive repertoire for himself and has most recently starred in the gripping political drama The Truth Commissioner.

With such a rich bunch of talent, it could be anybody's win. Previous recipients include Saoirse Ronan, Michael Fassbender, Domnhall Gleeson, Jamie Dornan and Sarah Greene. The awards will be hosted by Deirdre O'Kane and there will be an array of guests there on the evening to perform and carry out some speeches.
Speaking on the selection of this years 'Rising Star' nominees, CEO Ainé Moriarty highlighted the importance such an award has for up and coming artists; “This important Award showcases four superb Irish talents who have proved themselves to be world class professionals in their fields and leading Irish creative professionals to spearhead and continue Ireland’s golden era of filmmaking into the future. IFTA is proud to showcase Ireland’s Rising Stars and acknowledges the partnership with the Irish Film Board across this Award supporting new Irish industry talent.”
The 2016 IFTA Awards Ceremony will take place at Dublin's Mansion House on Saturday April 9 and will be broadcast the following day on TV3 at 9pm.