18/01/2012

The Irish Film Board (IFB) and the Irish Film and Television Academy (IFTA) have announced the Rising Star Award nominees for 2012, the winner of which will be unveiled at the Irish Film and Television Awards ceremony on February 11.

The 2012 nominees are:
Rebecca Daly - Writer/Director (The Other Side of Sleep [+see also:
trailer
interview: Antonia Campbell-Huges
film profile])
John Michael McDonagh - Writer/Director (The Guard [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: John Michael McDonagh
film profile])
Chris O’Dowd - Actor (Bridesmaids)
Emmett Scanlan - Actor (Charlie Casanova [+see also:
trailer
film profile])

IFTA CEO Áine Moriarty said, “This important Award puts the spotlight on great Irish talent making a significant mark in the film industry at large. These four exciting Irish stars have shown themselves to be world class talents in their respective fields and I have no doubt that they will be counted among the wealth of leading Irish talents over the coming years. IFTA is proud to put the international spotlight on Irelands Rising Stars and acknowledges the Irish Film Board’s on-going support of new Irish industry talent.”

IFB CEO James Hickey said, “Creating opportunities for new Irish talent across feature films, animation and documentary through our film funding is one of the key objectives of the Irish Film Board.  The Rising Star Award provides a profile for new talent and we hope that this year’s nominees go on to achieve great success in the future.”

McDonagh said, tongue firmly in cheek, “I'm very pleased to be nominated for this year’s Rising Star Award. However, given that I am pathologically competitive, this nomination will mean nothing to me if I don't win. All opposition must be crushed. Especially Chris O’Dowd, who will be starring with Brendan Gleeson in my next film later this year. If he wins, his role will have to be recast. I'm that vindictive.”