The annual IFTA Film & Drama Awards crowned A Date for Mad Mary with the title of Best Film, with cast member Charleigh Bailey also taking home the IFTA for Best Supporting Actress Film.
Bailey was presented with her first IFTA Award by fellow Irish talent Colm Meaney, who was in turn honoured with the IFTA for Best Lead Actor Film for his portrayal of the late Martin McGuinness in Nick Hamm’s The Journey.
Double awards also went to Richie Smyth’s debut feature The Siege of Jadotville, with Smyth accepting the award for Best Director Film and Jason O’Mara receiving Best Supporting Actor Film.
Best Lead Actress in Film was awarded to Loving star Ruth Negga.
The prestigious George Morrison Feature Documentary Award went to Dave Clarke and Ciarán Deeney, the team behind Colm Quinn’s Mattress Men.
Best Short Film went to Dave Tynan for viral project Heartbreak while Animated Short went to IADT graduate Vincent Gallagher for stop motion project Second to None.
The Rising Star award sponsored by the Irish Film Board went to The OA and Property of the State actor Patrick Gibson.
Highlights for drama categories are led by Vikings team Morgan O’Sullivan & James Flynn accepting the coveted title of Best Drama, with an additional award for Best Make-Up & Hair for Dee Corcoran & Tom McInerney on the History Channel series shot in Co. Wicklow, Ireland.
Best Lead Actor in Drama this year goes to Cillian Murphy for Peaky Blinders with Amy Huberman taking the Best Lead Actress in Drama for new homegrown series Striking Out.
Another flagship achievement in original Irish drama is James Phelan’s award for Best Script Drama for Centenary comedy Wrecking the Rising.
Supporting acting talent in drama sees Charlie Murphy honoured for Happy Valley and Ned Dennehy for Irish language western series An Klondike.
Ruth Negga’s fellow Oscar Nominee Consolata Boyle of Florence Foster Jenkins achieved the award for Best Costume Design for this, her sixth award of a total nine Irish Academy nominations to date.
Seamus McGarvey came out on top of the Director of Photography category for his work on Tom Ford’s Nocturnal Animals, and Nick Emerson for Best Editing on Billy O’Brien’s I Am Not A Serial Killer.
The Secret Scripture took double craft awards with Derek Wallace awarded the IFTA for Best Production Design and Brian Byrne taking the award for Best Original Music.
The Siege of Jadotville took home its third award for Best VFX, which went to Tim Chauncey of Windmill Lane VFX. Juanita Wilson’s second feature Tomato Red earned the award for Best Sound tonight, for the work of Niall Brady, Ken Galvin & Steve Fanagan.
2017 Nominations & Winners
LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT AWARD
Michael Gambon
BEST FILM
A Date for Mad Mary
Love & Friendship
The Secret Scripture
The Siege of Jadotville
Tomato Red
The Young Offenders
ACTOR IN A LEAD ROLE FILM
Jamie Dornan – The Siege of Jadotville
Michael Fassbender – The Light Between Oceans
Colm Meaney – The Journey
Alex Murphy – The Young Offenders
Mark O’Halloran – History’s Future
ACTRESS IN A LEAD ROLE FILM
Caoilfhionn Dunne – In View
Seana Kerslake – A Date for Mad Mary
Aisling Loftus -Property of The State
Ruth Negga – Loving
Catherine Walker – A Dark Song
ACTOR IN A SUPPORTING ROLE FILM
Colin Farrell – Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them
Brendan Gleeson – Trespass Against Us
Ciaran Hinds – Bleed for This
Jason O’Mara – The Siege of Jadotville
Chris Walley – The Young Offenders
ACTRESS IN A SUPPORTING ROLE FILM
Charleigh Bailey – A Date for Mad Mary
Simone Kirby – Notes on Blindness
Susan Lynch – Bad Day for the Cut
Hilary Rose – The Young Offenders
Fiona Shaw – Out of Innocence
DIRECTOR FILM
Peter Foott – The Young Offenders
Jim Sheridan – The Secret Scripture
Richie Smyth – The Siege of Jadotville
Darren Thornton – A Date for Mad Mary
SCRIPT FILM
Kevin Brodbin – The Siege of Jadotville
Peter Foott – The Young Offenders
Darren Thornton & Colin Thornton – A Date for Mad Mary
Juanita Wilson – Tomato Red
GEORGE MORRISON FEATURE DOCUMENTARY
Atlantic – Risteard O Domhnaill
Bobby Sands 66 Days – Trevor Birney
In Loco Parentis – Neasa Ní Chianáin
It’s Not Yet Dark – Lesley McKimm & Kathryn Kathleen Kennedy
Mattress Men – Dave Clarke & Ciarán Deeney
SHORT FILM
Animal – Niall Owens
Baring Arms – Colm Quinn
Gridlock – Ian Hunt Duffy
Heartbreak – Dave Tynan
Lily – Graham Cantwell
Terminal – Natasha Waugh
ANIMATION
Define Intervention – Sean Cunningham
Don’t Forget the Bread – Gary Gill
The Lost Letter – Kealan O’ Rourke
Second to None – Vincent Gallagher
DRAMA
An Klondike
The Fall
Game of Thrones
Smalltown
Striking Out
Vikings
ACTOR IN A LEAD ROLE IN DRAMA
Dara Devaney – An Klondike 02
Cillian Murphy – Peaky Blinders
James Nesbitt – The Secret
Aidan Turner – Poldark
Tom Vaughan-Lawlor – Trial of the Century
ACTRESS IN A LEAD ROLE IN DRAMA
Caitriona Balfe – Outlander
Elaine Cassidy – No Offence
Anne Marie Duff – Murder: The Lost Weekend
Amy Huberman – Striking Out
Ruth Negga – Preacher
ACTOR IN A SUPPORTING ROLE IN DRAMA
Liam Cunningham – Game of Thrones
Ned Dennehy – An Klondike
Moe Dunford – Vikings
Andrew Scott – The Hollow Crown
Robert Sheehan – Fortitude
ACTRESS IN A SUPPORTING ROLE IN DRAMA
Ruth Bradley – Humans
Sinead Cusack – Call The Midwife
Dominique McElligott – House of Cards
Charlene McKenna – Ripper Street
Charlie Murphy – Happy Valley
DIRECTOR DRAMA
Anthony Byrne – Ripper Street
Ciaran Donnelly – Vikings 4
Neasa Hardiman – Z: The Beginning of Everything
Dathai Keane – An Klondike
SCRIPT DRAMA
Gerard Barrett – Smalltown
Barry Devlin – My Mother and Other Strangers
Marcus Fleming – An Klondike
James Phelan – Wrecking the Rising
DIRECTOR OF PHOTOGRAPHY
Seamus McGarvey – Nocturnal Animals
Piers McGrail – Tomato Red
Robbie Ryan – American Honey
Cathal Watters – An Klondike 2
EDITING
Colin Campbell – Young Offenders
Dermot Diskin – The Secret Scripture
Nick Emerson – I am Not Serial Killer
Una Ni Dhonghaile – The Crown
PRODUCTION DESIGN
Mark Geraghty – Vikings Season 4
Mark Kelly – An Klondike 2
Anna Rackard – Love & Friendship
Derek Wallace – The Secret Scripture
COSTUME DESIGN
Joan Bergin – The Secret Scripture
Consolata Boyle – Florence Foster Jenkins
Triona Lillis – An Klondike
Eimer Ní Mhaoldomhnaigh – Love & Friendship
MAKE-UP & HAIR
An Klondike
Love & Friendship
Vikings
Wrecking the Rising
ORIGINAL MUSIC
David Holmes – The Fall
Steve Lynch – An Klondike
Patrick Cassidy – Smalltown
Brian Byrne – The Secret Scripture
SOUND
Game of Thrones
The Siege of Jadotville
Tomato Red
Without Name
VFX
Black Sails
Game Of Thrones
Ripper Street
The Siege of Jadotville