It’s a huge year for Ireland at the Oscars: from acting to directing to visual effects, Irish films, film-makers and stars have received 14 nominations. A quarter of the acting nominees – Colin Farrell, Brendan Gleeson, Kerry Condon, Paul Mescal and Barry Keoghan – are Irish. And The Quiet Girl/An Cailín Ciúin is the first Irish-language film to be nominated for an Oscar. JJ Abrams put it succinctly: “Seven million people on that island and all of them are nominated.”
The director and producer was speaking at the 17th Oscar Wilde awards, an annual party celebrating the work of Irish people in film. It’s hosted by the US-Ireland Alliance, a non-profit that fosters ties between the countries, at Bad Robot in Santa Monica, California – the production company belonging to Abrams and his wife, the producer Katie McGrath.
