Movies: Irish animation in frame for Oscar, along with leading cast of British stars
AN Irish film is in the running for an Oscar.
Kilkenny’s Cartoon Saloon has been nominated for its acclaimed Wolfwalkers in the best animated feature film category.
Following on from their Golden Globe nomination, co-directors and long-term friends Tomm Moore and Ross Stewart have been given the nod in the Oscars alongside Paul Young and Stéphan Roelants.
No strangers to international recognition, Cartoon Saloon previously received Oscar nominations for The Secret Of Kells and Song Of The Sea, making this their fifth time to be included in the prestigious event.
But they will no doubt be hoping not to be left empty-handed this time around when it comes to the 93rd Academy Awards.
Announced in a virtual event by actress Priyanka Chopra Jonas and singer Nick Jonas, they will be going up against contenders like Shaun The Sheep Movie: Farmageddon and Soul.
Set in the 17th century, Wolfwalkers tells the tale of an apprentice hunter and her father as they journey to help wipe out the island’s last wolf pack.
But everything changes after she befriends a free-spirited girl from a mysterious tribe rumoured to transform into wolves by night.
Carey Mulligan, Riz Ahmed and Daniel Kaluuya are among the British actors who have been nominated for Oscars.
Kaluuya, who was previously nominated for the best actor prize in 2018 for his role in Get Out, picked up his second nod in three years for his performance as Black Panther leader Fred Hampton in the film Judas And The Black Messiah.
He is nominated for the best supporting actor prize alongside Sacha Baron Cohen for his turn as social activist Abbie Hoffman in The Trial Of The Chicago 7.
Riz Ahmed scored a best actor nod for his role as a drummer who loses his hearing in Sound Of Metal, alongside Gary Oldman for his role as the Citizen Kane screenwriter Herman J Mankiewicz in Mank and Sir Anthony Hopkins for his turn in drama The Father, about a man who is slowly slipping into dementia.
Black Panther actor Chadwick Boseman, who died last August, is considered to be the front runner in the category for his performance as an ambitious trumpeter in Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom.
The Academy Awards were delayed by the pandemic and are now scheduled to take place on April 25.