Donkey work? No, it’s Oscar-winning acting

UNTIL now, animal presence at the Oscars has mostly been limited to metaphorical silent lambs and cuckoos’ nests. But campaigners are calling for real creatures to be recognised with a best animal performance category, after donkeys stole the show among nominated films this year. The Banshees of Inisherin, which is nominated for nine awards, features Jenny the donkey acting as a companion to Colin Farrell’s character Padraic.

Meanwhile in EO, nominated for best international feature film, the eponymous donkey is played by six different animals. The Polish film explores the misadventures of a donkey born into a travelling circus.

The central role of both creatures in their respective films deserves special recognition, say animal welfare campaigners.

“It’s unusual for two films featuring donkeys to share the limelight,” said Simon Horn, of the Donkey Sanctuary charity. “We would support the idea of a best performance by an animal category at the Oscars.”

In Banshees, Farrell’s companion is played by three-year-old Wicklow-born filly Jenny – though a prosthetic version of her is deployed at a crucial moment – while in EO the central animal character is played by six different donkeys.

Ben Hart, an animal behaviourist, said: “The donkey’s stoic nature, minimal body language and propensity to freeze when frightened, combined with a reluctance to put themselves at risk, results in donkeys commonly being mislabelled as stupid or stubborn.

“I believe anyone that calls a donkey stupid, has been outsmarted by one!”