The 2026 BAFTA Film Award nominations, unveiled on January 27, 2026, marked a watershed moment for Irish cinema, with talent from the island securing recognition across multiple categories in what has become one of the strongest showings in recent memory. At the heart of this success stands HAMNET, Chloé Zhao’s adaptation that has emerged as the dominant force of the awards season, carrying Irish performers Jessie Buckley and Paul Mescal to career-defining nominations while simultaneously breaking records for the sheer volume of nods it received.
Buckley’s Leading Actress nomination for her portrayal of Agnes represents a culmination of years of critically acclaimed work, while Mescal’s Supporting Actor recognition for his turn as William Shakespeare confirms his rapid ascent from breakthrough star to established force in contemporary cinema. The film’s reach extends beyond its headliners, with writer Maggie O’Farrell landing on the longlist for Adapted Screenplay, demonstrating how Irish creative voices have penetrated every level of the production. According to The Irish Times, HAMNET‘s nomination haul has shattered previous benchmarks, transforming what might have been a modest costume drama into an awards juggernaut that has elevated Irish participation across the board.
The Irish presence radiates outward from HAMNET into other productions that showcase the depth of talent the country continues to produce. Andrew Scott earned a Supporting Actor longlist mention for BLUE MOON, a production that not only filmed on Irish soil but was developed in association with Dublin-based Wild Atlantic Pictures, as noted by IFTN. Cinematographer Robbie Ryan received longlist recognition for his work on BUGONIA, another project produced by Dublin’s Element Pictures, while visual effects artist Richard Baneham made the longlist for AVATAR: FIRE AND ASH. Even Cillian Murphy, fresh from his recent Oscar triumph, appears among the producers listed on the Outstanding British Film longlist for STEVE, extending his influence beyond performance into the realm of production.
What emerges from these nominations is not merely a roster of individual achievements but evidence of an ecosystem that has matured over decades of strategic investment in film infrastructure, training, and international co-production treaties. The February 22, 2026 ceremony in London will serve as the culmination of this recognition, but the nominations themselves already tell a story of Irish cinema at a peak moment, with performers, craftspeople, and production companies all operating at the highest levels of international filmmaking and reaping the rewards that sustained excellence inevitably brings.
Irish talent is absolutely dominating the 2026 BAFTA nominations! 🇮🇪✨
Jessie Buckley and Paul Mescal both scored major noms for HAMNET, with Buckley up for Leading Actress as Agnes and Mescal recognized for Supporting Actor as William Shakespeare. The film has basically swept the nominations, breaking records left and right.
But that`s just the beginning. Andrew Scott landed on the longlist for BLUE MOON, Robbie Ryan got recognized for his stunning cinematography on BUGONIA, and even Cillian Murphy appears as a producer on the STEVE longlist.
From performers to cinematographers to production companies like Element Pictures and Wild Atlantic Pictures, Irish voices are everywhere in this year`s race.
The ceremony hits London on February 22nd. The world is watching Irish cinema right now, and what a moment to witness. 🎬🔥
#Ireland #Irish #Movies #Film #Television #TV #Cinema #Irishmovies #IrishFilm #IrishCinema #Actor #ActorsLife #IrishActor #BAFTA #BAFTAs #BAFTA2026 #JessieBuckley #PaulMescal #AndrewScott #CillianMurphy #RobbieRyan #Hamnet #AwardsSeason #IrishTalent #FilmTwitter #Filmmaking #IrishProud
Aidan Turner is about to prove the pen is mightier than the sword 🗡️
Fresh from his scene-stealing turn as Declan O`Hara in RIVALS, Turner takes on one of literature`s most dangerously charismatic figures: the Vicomte de Valmont in DANGEROUS LIAISONS.
Mar 21 to Jun 6 at @nationaltheatre - more at irishfilmtv.com.
Andrew Scott delivers a coolly contained Richard Rodgers in BLUE MOON, now streaming.
Set over one night inside Sardi`s restaurant during the 1943 opening of OKLAHOMA!, it unfolds as a rueful, jazz-inflected chamber piece—talky, intimate, devastating.
More BLUE MOON at irishfilmtv.com.
🎬 Aidan Gillen is heading back to the dark side of London for DRIVER, a gritty British crime romance that pairs him with the phenomenal @dafnekeen!
Gillen plays Trey, a reclusive ex-con turned night driver navigating London`s after-hours underworld, while Keen takes on Camden, a sharp and restless young woman working as a call girl. What begins as chance encounters evolves into something fragile, intimate, and charged with tension.
More at irishfilmtv.com.
Paul Mescal and Josh O`Connor are bringing something truly special to THE HISTORY OF SOUND 🎵✨
The two actors sang, reminisced, and opened up about this intimate musical journey. Recording onto actual wax cylinders gave them a tangible connection to their characters` world—the fragility of the medium mirrors the fragility of memory itself.
They revealed which Beatles song their characters would love and discussed the upcoming Beatles biopics. What emerges most powerfully is the chemistry between them—THE HISTORY OF SOUND is ultimately about how music becomes the language through which we express what words cannot capture 🎬🎶
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🎬✨ The nominations are IN!
The 2026 @iftaacademy Awards are celebrating another extraordinary year of Irish storytelling that`s captured hearts around the world.
The future of Irish film and drama has never looked brighter. 🇮🇪🎭
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Westeros is trading dragonfire for something a bit more human!
Set nearly a century before GAME OF THRONES, HBO’s latest venture into the world of Ice and Fire, A KNIGHT OF THE SEVEN KINGDOMS, is now on #HBO.
First look trailer at irishfilmtv.com.
** NEW TRAILER ALERT **
Fresh off her 2026 Golden Globe win for HAMNET, Ireland`s own Jessie Buckley delivers a career-defining performance in Maggie Gyllenhaal`s audacious reimagining of a classic monster tale.
Set in gritty 1930s Chicago, THE BRIDE! transforms Frankenstein`s silent companion into a revolutionary force of nature—murdered, resurrected, and absolutely refusing to play by anyone`s rules.
Watch now at irishfilmtv.com.
Lisa McGee (yes, the genius behind DERRY GIRLS) is back with HOW TO GET TO HEAVEN FROM BELFAST and it sounds absolutely unhinged in the best way possible.
Three childhood friends—chaotic TV writer Saoirse, stressed mum-of-three Robyn, and dependable Dara—reunite for the wake of their estranged fourth friend. What starts as a simple journey across Ireland quickly spirals into something darker when eerie events unfold and a buried childhood secret threatens to surface.
Mark your calendars for February 2026 because this Irish odyssey is going to be unmissable!
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Fresh from wrapping THE IMMORTAL MAN, Cillian Murphy is teaming up with Daniel Craig and Michelle Williams for Damien Chazelle`s mysterious new prison drama—and the buzz is already deafening.
Production starts later this year through Chazelle`s Wild Chickens Productions, with Paramount distributing, but details remain sparse beyond the prison setting.
For Murphy, it`s another chance to do what he does best: portray men under impossible pressure with that signature intensity and precision. A contained prison environment with Craig and Williams?
That`s not just a movie—that`s a masterclass waiting to happen.
#Ireland #Irish #Movies #Film #Television #TV #Cinema #Irishmovies #IrishFilm #IrishCinema #Actor #ActorsLife #IrishActor #CillianMurphy #DamienChazelle #DanielCraig #MichelleWilliams #Hollywood #MovieNews #ComingSoon #Paramount #Oppenheimer #OscarWinner #PrisonDrama #NewMovie #FilmProduction #ActorLife
🎬 LEGENDARY BELFAST ACTOR CIARÁN HINDS TO RECEIVE LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT AWARD 🏆
From Belfast streets to Hollywood`s biggest stages, Ciarán Hinds has given us five decades of unforgettable performances.
The Irish Film & Television Academy is honoring this Oscar-nominated powerhouse with the Irish Academy Award for Lifetime Achievement at this year`s IFTA ceremony on February 20th.
Hinds has worked with everyone from Scorsese to Spielberg, shared the screen with icons like Judi Dench and Cate Blanchett, and earned nominations from the Oscars, Golden Globes, and BAFTAs. Whether in BELFAST (which earned him that Oscar nod), EXCALIBUR, or countless other projects, he`s brought depth, dignity, and raw talent to every role.
With new projects like Netflix`s EAST OF EDEN on the horizon, this Belfast-born legend continues to prove why he`s one of Ireland`s greatest exports to cinema. A true master of the craft. 👏
Congratulations, Ciarán! ✨
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Barry Keoghan is having a MOMENT 🎬✨
The Dublin actor just dropped the trailer for CRIME 101 (hitting screens February 13!) and he`s completely unrecognizable.
Keoghan goes head-to-head with Chris Hemsworth, Halle Berry, and Mark Ruffalo in this intense crime thriller.
Watch new trailer now at irishfilmtv.com.
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From BBC talent show contestant to Golden Globe winner 🏆✨
Jessie Buckley`s journey is pure cinema magic. Eighteen years after appearing on I`D DO ANYTHING as a teenager, she`s now an Oscar frontrunner for her stunning performance as Shakespeare`s wife in HAMNET.
The Irish actor just took home the Golden Globe for best actress in a drama, and with Academy Award nominations dropping January 22, she could become only the fifth Irish actor ever to win that coveted gold statuette.
Even more incredible? Northern Ireland author Maggie O`Farrell, who wrote the original novel, co-wrote the screenplay and could score her own Oscar. A potential double win for the island of Ireland 🇮🇪
Co-produced by Steven Spielberg (who says he "loved" the book) and co-starring Paul Mescal as Shakespeare himself, HAMNET brought together a Chinese director, Irish leads, a Polish crew, and British collaborators to tell the story of England`s most famous writer.
From reality TV to the precipice of Oscar glory—this is what the long game looks like 🎬
#Ireland #Irish #Movies #Film #Television #TV #Cinema #Irishmovies #IrishFilm #IrishCinema #Actor #ActorsLife #IrishActor #JessieBuckley #Hamnet #GoldenGlobes #Oscars #AcademyAwards #PaulMescal #MaggieOFarrell #Shakespeare #AwardsSeason #Hollywood #BritishCinema #InternationalCinema #FilmNews #MovieNews #Inspiration #Success #ActingCareer
After two decades, Cillian Murphy returns to the franchise that helped define his career.
28 YEARS LATER: THE BONE TEMPLE reunites him with visionary director Danny Boyle for what could be their most ambitious collaboration yet—a film that dares to ask not how we survive the apocalypse, but what we become after it.
In theatres Jan 16, this isn`t about spectacle or escalation. It`s about maturity. Boyle has always excelled at capturing collapse—of systems, of morality, of identity—and now he`s exploring what comes after. What happens when two generations must coexist: those who remember the world before, and those who only know ruin.
Murphy`s return feels essential, not nostalgic. His presence grounds the film in its own history while pushing it forward into uncomfortable new territory. This is a story about staying, not running. About building something permanent in a world shaped by impermanence.
If Boyle and Murphy deliver on this thematic promise, THE BONE TEMPLE could stand as one of the franchise`s most thoughtful entries—proof that true horror isn`t infection, but what we become when we try to move on from it.
#Ireland #Irish #Movies #Film #Television #TV #Cinema #Irishmovies #IrishFilm #IrishCinema #Actor #ActorsLife #IrishActor #CillianMurphy #DannyBoyle #28YearsLater #TheBoneTemple #HorrorFilm #BritishCinema #IrishActors #OscarWinner #Oppenheimer #PeakyBlinders #Trainspotting #HorrorCinema #PostApocalyptic #FilmDirector #ActorReturns #IconicDuo
Irish talent is absolutely dominating the BAFTA Film Awards longlist this year, and we`re here for every single moment of it 🎬✨
Jessie Buckley is longlisted for Leading Actress in HAMNET, with co-star Paul Mescal recognized in Supporting Actor for the same film.
The Irish connections run deep here—Coleraine-born author Maggie O`Farrell, who wrote the original novel, is longlisted for Adapted Screenplay alongside director Chloé Zhao.
Cillian Murphy earns a Leading Actor nod for STEVE, a film that includes his own @bigthingsfilms among the producers and is also up for Outstanding British Film. Andrew Scott shines in the Supporting Actor category for BLUE MOON, filmed in Ireland with Dublin-based @wildatlanticpictures.
Behind the camera, Dublin cinematographer Robbie Ryan is longlisted for BUGONIA (produced by Dublin`s @element_pictures), while Armagh-born Séamus McGarvey gets recognized for DIE MY LOVE.
Donegal`s Myrid Carten earns an Outstanding Debut nomination for documentary A WANT IN HER, while MY FATHER`S SHADOW (also from Element Pictures) features in the same category.
From acting to cinematography, from visual effects to screenwriting—Irish creatives are proving once again that our island produces world-class storytelling talent across every discipline.
#Ireland #Irish #Movies #Film #Television #TV #Cinema #Irishmovies #IrishFilm #IrishCinema #Actor #ActorsLife #IrishActor #BAFTA #BAFTAs #JessieBuckley #PaulMescal #CillianMurphy #AndrewScott #Hamnet #IrishTalent #FilmAwards #Cinematography #VisualEffects #Documentary #ElementPictures #IrishProduction #Screenplay #AwardsSeason
