Irish Nominations Still Count As A Victory

As the Irish walked home with one Oscar last night, some may think it was a disappointing night for the homeland, but in fact the amount of Irish talent and creativity celebrated in Hollywood last night was nothing short of a triumph.

Though Lenny Abrahamson didn’t scoop the Best Director for his stunningly emotional film Room (we’re simultaneously completely biased and completely right in saying that his innovative, nuanced and heartpounding drama would have been a worthier winner than the all-too-safe procedural drama Spotlight), his presence at the wards, along with the four other Irish nominees, marked a definite change in the tide of Irish filmmaking.

While Abrahamson was nominated for Best Director for Room, his writer and collaborator Emma Donoghue was nominated for adapting her own award-winning novel. Saoirse Ronan was nominated for Best Actress in John Crowley’s gorgeous adaptation of Colm Toibin’s Brooklyn – and then there was Benjamin Cleary, who was criminally overlooked in the lead-up to Tinsel Town’s most prestigious awards. The Dublin-born writer and director was the least championed and publicised of all the Irish nominees, and yet it was he who was awarded a golden statuette for Best Short Film. His short, Stutterer, tells the tale of a man whose lush inner thoughts are rendered mute by a crippling stutter feels isolated from the world despite a flourishing online relationship. Cleary was gracious and patriotic in victory, thanking his parents, and saying “Every day is a proud day to be Irish, but today is even more so than usual... Slainte!”

As odds-on favourite brie Larson received her award for Best Actress, the 26 year old Californian effusively thanked a proudly smiling Abrahamson, describing him as “absolutely incredible”, and also paid homage to Donoghue, who “created this world.” As Larson expressed, “the thing I love about movie-making is the amount of people it takes to make it”, it was clear that her award was not only a result of her stunning performance, but also the encouraging and empowering creative collaboration she shared with Abrahamson, Donoghue and producer Ed Guiney.

By receiving awards in four major categories, winning one Oscar and having the work of Irish filmmakers, writers and producers lead to another, the 2016 Oscars mark a turning point for Irish cinema, as the talent, innovation and vision of our directors, writers and actors is appreciated on a world stage. Though we’re often presented as the underdog, we have officially proven our ability to compete alongside the best films in the world. May we see last night as a victory, and use this to encourage and invigorate the upcoming crop of Irish film talent to pursue the high standards, ground-breaking vision and international acclaim we now know we deserve.