Niamh McCormack and Testimony among winners at Irish Film Festival London 2025 awards

House of Guinness actress Niamh McCormack and feature documentary Testimony were among the winners at the Irish Film Festival London Awards 2025.

The Irish Film Festival London screened 15 Irish films over the course of last week, many of which were UK and international premieres. The awards were announced at a ceremony on Monday night.

"These powerful stories — both fiction and non-fiction — highlight the richness and diversity of Irish filmmaking today, from groundbreaking debuts to established voices pushing the boundaries of cinema," said host organisation Irish Film and Television UK of the Festival.

"The Awards Ceremony honours the very best of Irish film talent, from actors and directors to writers and producers — celebrating the bold creativity and craftsmanship shaping Ireland’s cinematic voice."

Testimony, a feature documentary about abuses in Magdalene Laundries and Mother and Baby Homes, won the award for Best Documentary.

Testimony was produced by Dublin-based production company Underground Films and directed by Dubliner Aoife Kelleher. The film is set to be released in Irish cinemas on November 21.

McCormack received the Ros Hubbard Award for Acting. The award was named after Dublin-born casting director Ros Hubbard, whose credits include the Lord of the Rings trilogy, The Mummy and The Da Vinci Code.

Along with starring in House of Guinness, McCormack has acted in Sky series Small Town, Big Story (created by Chris O'Dowd) and Netflix series Everything Now.

Revisit Niamh McCormack's September interview with Hot Press here.

The Súile Eile Award for Outstanding Contribution to Irish Film went to Dublin-born actress Brenda Fricker.

Fricker's career has spanned over six decades. She was the first Irish actress to win an Academy Award in 1990 for her supporting role in the Christy Brown biopic My Left Foot.

Fricker has been nominated for three Irish Film and Television Academy Awards, for her roles in  Veronica Guerin (2003), Inside I'm Dancing (2004) and Albert Nobbs (2011).

The award for Best Feature Film went to Irish-language thriller Aontas, directed by Damian McCann (Doineann).

Aontas follows the story of three women — played by Carrie Crowley (An Cailín Ciúin), Brid Brennan (Dancing at Lughnasa) and Eva-Jane Gaffney (Sing Street) — who attempt to rob a rural Irish Credit Union.

Teen drama Ready or Not, directed by Claire Frances Byrne (Sister This), earned a special mention in the feature film category.

Best Short Film was awarded to Three Keenings, directed by Oliver McGoldrick (The Dark Chasm of Lincoln Street).

Three Keenings follows a struggling actor who finds himself in the role of a professional mourner in the countryside of the North. It has already won several awards from film festivals around the world.

The special mention in the short film category went to Purebred, an LGBTQ+ drama directed by Caleb J. Roberts (Homebird).

Other films screened at the Festival included Trad, Saipan, Celtic Utopia and The Swallow.