Stars of the big GREEN
Unprecedented successes of locally produced films and A-list actors herald a golden age of Irish cinema
THE Irish producer of multiple Oscarnominated features has hailed ‘an incredible generation of acting talent’ as Ireland celebrated 12 Academy Awards nominations this week.
Cillian Murphy is being hotly tipped to become the first Irish-born person to win a leading role Oscar for Oppenheimer, while Dubliner Robbie Ryan is nominated for cinematography for Poor Things – which was produced by Irish company Element Pictures and received 11 nominations in total.
That was two more than The Banshees of Inisherin scored last year in contributing to a record 14 Irish nominations, which seemed like a freak event at the time.
But another slew of Golden Globe and BAFTA nominations for 2024 topped off this week with the Oscar nods – even if some Irish hopefuls were left disappointed – has validated the idea Ireland is witnessing the start of a golden age of Irish cinema.
Ed Guiney, founder and co-CEO of Element Pictures – producer of three Best Picture Oscar nominees in Room (2015), The Favourite (2018) and now Poor
Things – agreed that there is magic in the air at the moment.
‘We are touching on something special’
He told the Irish Mail on Sunday: ‘It’s an extraordinary bunch of people. When you think half of the [six] nominees for Best Actor [in a drama film] at the Globes this year were Irish and there were five acting nominations at the Oscars last year… it was stellar.
‘Then you’ve got the likes of Saoirse [Ronan], obviously, flying the flag and Kerry Condon [who was nominated for an Oscar last year]. So there is definitely an incredible generation of Irish acting talent.’
The 57-year-old producer said there had been ‘a lot of presence at the awards stuff’ for Irish talent since Room.
‘There may be nothing next year, who knows, but we’ve probably almost come to expect that there’ll be something, which is very unusual for a country the size of Ireland.’
He said the glut of awards success has been ‘long gestating’ ever since Michael D Higgins re-established the Irish Film Board (now Screen Ireland) in the mid-90s.
‘I think Ireland at the time was kind of unique in Western Europe in that we didn’t really have a film industry.
‘There was State funding in the 80s and then it got chopped, but there really hadn’t been consistent State funding or support for the film industry the way there would have been in most other Western countries and indeed beyond.’
Mr Guiney said we have been ‘madly catching up’ since the 1990s, ‘and I think it’s in the last five to 10 years that you’ve really begun to see the quality increasing and then the impact of Irish film and TV drama internationally.’ Element produced or co-produced all of Poor Things director Yorgos Lanthimos’s films and everything directed by Lenny Abrahamson, which includes Adam & Paul (2004), Frank (2014), Room and Normal People (2020).
The company was also behind many other standout Irish titles of the last 20 years such as The Wind That Shakes The Barley (2006), The Guard (2011) and Rosie (2018). In that time, they have worked with Oscar nominees Cillian Murphy, Colin Farrell, Barry Keoghan, Paul Mescal and Golden Globe nominee Andrew Scott.
‘It’s a very small industry, both locally and internationally, weirdly,’ Mr Guiney said. ‘So you do get to know people. We’ve worked with all them and loved them all to bits. Particularly Cillian with that nomination this year, we’re incredibly proud and wishing him all the best obviously.
‘Happily, we’re not competing with each other in that category.’
The producer agreed that we are ‘definitely’ punching above our weight in terms of acting talent.
Mr Guiney agreed that we are fortunate ‘in one sense’ that English – ‘the lingua franca of the international film and television market’ – is our first language.
‘The other thing is that I think it slightly further challenges us because when we’re making things up against the Americans and British – that’s the standard that we’re holding ourselves to and that’s a high standard.
‘So, I think that maybe increases the pressure to do stuff that’s up to that standard, and that’s probably a good upward dynamic.’
Louise Ryan, head of marketing and communications at Screen Ireland, told the MoS she believes ‘we are really touching on something special’.
‘I think you’re seeing an industry really mature. You’re seeing the results of continued investment and talent coming to the fore,’ she said.
Ms Ryan said independent films and major international projects previously ‘felt very different from each other’ when Screen Ireland was promoting Ireland as a filming location.
‘They’re still very different, but what you’re seeing now is very established talent creating major projects in Ireland – for example [the Apple TV series] Bad Sisters [created by Sharon Horgan] – while you’re also seeing talent like Cillian Murphy working in Oppenheimer but also coming back and working in an independent Irish film [the upcoming Small Things Like These].
‘Equally Barry [Keoghan, who’ll star in Irish-made Bring Them Down this year] and Paul Mescal [who acted in God’s Creatures in 2022]. We are seeing stars rocket for sure but they all began their careers in independent Irish films and they’re all coming back.’
Ireland’s ‘Section 481’ tax incentive, introduced in 2015, has accelerated the industry’s growth here, as big international productions are drawn to value for money and a well-regarded workforce.
In the last few years Ardmore Studios and Ashford Studios, both in Co. Wicklow, and Troy Studios in Limerick have been able to further expand their size and capabilities.
‘That definitely gives more capacity for major international productions here and also the space to ensure that there’ll be room for these indie projects if they are needed,’ Ms Ryan said.
She said our burgeoning reputation internationally is causing producers to look to Ireland in search of emerging talent.
‘When we met with Apple, they were very aware that they were working with [decorated Kilkenny animation studio] Cartoon Saloon and other projects coming out of Ireland.
‘There’s a lot of film and television being made and doing well and TV production was up 16% last year. So I think the infrastructure that we have is really strong now.’
Screen Ireland announced what looks like a strong slate for 2024 this week, with the national agency for film and TV funding 20 feature films, eight TV dramas, seven animated series, 10 documentaries, three RTÉ Storyland projects and 31 short films.
‘The talent that is established now, they had to really believe that there would be a film industry 20 years ago and it was really only the beginning,’ Ms Ryan said.
‘It’ll be very interesting to see what happens next.’
‘It will be interesting to see what happens next’