Martin McDonagh, writer, director and creator of small, crazed worlds of fierce people taking their pain out on each other, is talking about his new film, THE BANSHEES OF INISHERIN. “It’s a really beautiful film, with brilliant performances,” he says. “And it’s funny… but it’s sad. No one really tries to make sad films any more.”
Actress Amy Huberman is set to be awarded the prestigious Maureen O’Hara award at the Kerry International Film Festival. This year’s festival will take place from October 20-23 across a series of venues throughout Killarney, Co. Kerry. In 2008, KIFF established the Maureen O’Hara Award in celebration of women who have excelled in film, TV and/or media. This year, the award will go to Huberman.
A host of Irish actors are hotly tipped to appear among next year’s Academy Award nominees. Jessie Buckley, Kerry Condon, Colin Farrell, and Brendan Gleeson have each received Oscar nods from the Hollywood Reporter. According to the publication, Killarney native Buckley is one of the “frontrunners” in the Best Supporting Actress category for her performance in Sarah Polley’s WOMEN TALKING.
28-year-old Ronan will star in Steve McQueen’s upcoming WWII drama BLITZ, which follows a group of Londoners during the aerial bombardment of their city. The confirmation of Ronan’s casting only adds further prestige to the upcoming project, given she is currently one of Hollywood’s brightest stars. Already a four-time Oscar nominee before the age of 30, the young Dublin actress can currently be seen in mystery comedy SEE HOW THEY RUN.
Paul Mescal heartbreakingly leads another A24 drama. The NORMAL PEOPLE breakout star appears in both GOD’S CREATURES and AFTERSUN two films set to be distributed by A24. Mescal plays a father adrift on a holiday alongside his 11-year-old daughter Sophie (Francesca Corio) in Turkey in the late 1990s. A present-day Sophie (Celia Rowlson-Hall) reflects over 20 years later on the tense trip with her father.
HEART OF STONE is set to be one of Netflix’s big blockbusters of 2023, and we’ve now got our first look at the upcoming spy thriller starring Wonder Woman’s Gal Gadot and Irish actor Jamie Dornan. Fans got a sneak peek at HEART OF STONE on Saturday as part of Tudum: A Netflix Global Fan Event. With five distinct celebrations, Tudum: A Netflix Global Fan Event includes first-look photos, never-before-seen footage, new trailers, behind-the-scenes access, celebrity appearances, interviews, and more from over 100 of Netflix subscribers’ favourite series, films and specials.
THE WONDER, Netflix’s upcoming film which is set in the Irish Midlands in 1862, will be released on the streaming platform on November 16. The psychological thriller, which is an adaptation of the Emma Donoghue novel of the same name, with a cast that includes Florence Pugh, Ciarán Hinds, Niamh Algar, Brían F O’Byrne, Elaine Cassidy and her daughter, Kíla Lord Cassidy, has Chilean director Sebastián Lelio (A Fantastic Woman, Gloria) behind the lens.
Award-winning Irish actor Brendan Gleeson is to host the iconic US TV comedy show SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE next month. The 67-year-old Dublin-born star, who is an Emmy award winner, will make his SNL debut on October 8. The show, which will be the second of its 48th season, will see Gleeson joined by Willow, daughter of Will Smith and Jada Pinkett Smith, who will make her debut as musical guest.
The Irish relationship with alcohol is explored in THE DRY, a wickedly dark, funny and revealing new series centred around one colourful Irish family. Moe Dunford, who signed up after reading dramatist Nancy Harris’s witty, pithy script has stated “One of the most honest, truest pieces of writing I’ve seen come out of Ireland”.
The hit Irish-language drama AN CAILÍN CIÚIN (THE QUIET GIRL) has secured North American distribution as it continues its push to make the shortlist for Best International Feature Film at next year’s Oscars. Last month, the Colm Bairéad-directed coming-of-age story was selected by the Irish Film and Television Academy (IFTA) as Ireland’s entry for the Best International Feature Film race at the 2023 Academy Awards.