IFTA winners

The Eclipse was named Best Film, also picking up IFTAs for Actor in a Supporting Role Film Aidan Quinn and Script Film Conor McPherson & Billy Roche.

Actors Colin Farrell and Dervla Kirwan won the Actor in a Lead Role Film and Actress in a Supporting Role Film awards for their performances in Neil Jordan’s Ondine.

Jim Sheridan was announced the winner of the Director Film Award for Brothers, and actress Saoirse Ronan won the Actress in a Lead Role Film IFTA for her performance in Peter Jackson’s The Lovely Bones.

Five Minutes of Heaven won the IFTA for Single Drama/ Drama Serial, whilst The Clinic picked up the award for Best Drama Series / Soap.

Irish director Thaddeus O’Sullivan was named Best Director Television for his work on Into the Storm, with its lead actor Brendan Gleeson winning the IFTA for Actor in a Lead Role Television for his performance as Winston Churchill in the HBO Drama.

Harper’s Island star Elaine Cassidy won the Actress in a Lead Role Television award, with the Supporting Actress and Actor Television IFTAs going to Sarah Bolger for The Tudors and Stephen Rea for Father & Son respectively.

Screenwriter of Father & Son, the late Frank Deasy, was announced the winner of the Script Television IFTA, Frank’s widow Marie Deasy accepted on his behalf.

Ondine picked up two more IFTAs for their Sound team and Production Designer, Anna Rackard. Other craft winners included Consolata Boyle for her Costume Design work on Cheri, Suzie Lavelle for Director of Photography on One Hundred Mornings; Mairead McIvor for her Editing work on Savage; TV drama The Take won the Makeup and Hair award and the Original Score IFTA went to Brian Byrne for his work on Zonad.

In television genre categories, The Apprentice picked up the Entertainment IFTA for the second year running, with productions Nightly News with Vincent Browne and the TV3 News at 5.30 winning the Factual and News IFTAs respectively. Best Sport was won by Grand Slam Journey.

In documentary and current affairs, Ken Wardrop’s His & Hers won the George Morrison Feature Documentary Award, whilst Documentary Series was presented to Blood of the Irish. The Single documentary IFTA was awarded to Seamus Heaney: Out of the Marvellous and The Frontline received the IFTA for Current Affairs.

Tomm Moore, director of the Oscar nominated animated feature The Secret of Kells was named the 2010 Irish Film Board Rising Star, with his film also picking up the Best Animation honours.

Runners took the IFTA for short film whilst Rásaí na Gaillimhe received the Special Irish Language award. On the Block scooped theIFTA for Children’s/Youth Programme.

In the international categories, the Irish Academy voted The Hurt Locker Best International Film with Robert Downey Jr (Sherlock Holmes) and Meryl Streep (It’s Complicated) winning both the International Actor and Pantene International Actress Awards for the second year in a row.

Brendan Gleeson, Jon Voight and Juliette Binoche presented the Lifetime Achievement Award to producer/director/writer John Boorman.