Four Irish films, including Kneecap, shortlisted for next year’s Oscars

One of the other three films is produced by Colin Farrell.

The Irish-language movie about and starring the Belfast-based hip-hop trio had been heavily tipped to be shortlisted in the Best International Feature Oscar category, which came to pass.

It also, however, made the shortlist in the Best Original Song category for the band's track 'Sick in the Head'.

Speaking about the achievement, writer-director of the Kneecap movie Rich Peppiatt said: "If someone had walked into the pub in 2019 - back when me and Kneecap were still dreaming up what this movie could be - and they told us five years later we’d be in the running for an Oscar, we’d probably have asked for a blast on whatever they were smoking.

"It’s been a rollercoaster journey marked by a huge amount of hard graft and plenty good fun, and making it to that hallowed Hollywood red carpet would certainly be a grand way to finish it all off.”

As well as this, the Donald Trump biopic The Apprentice - which was produced by Irish company Tailored Films - was shortlisted in the Best Makeup and Hairstyling category.

The film focuses on Trump (Sebastian Stan) and his career as a real estate businessman in New York City in the 70s and 80s, as well as his relationship with controversial attorney Roy Cohn (Jeremy Strong).

Also making the shortlist for the Best Live Action Short category are two other Irish films: Clodagh and Room Taken.

Made by British/Irish director Portia A. Buckley, the plot synopsis for Clodagh reads: "The film follows Mrs Kelly, a lonely, devout, and rigorously honest housekeeper (Bríd Ní Neachtain) whose discovery of a young Irish dancer, Clodagh (Katelyn Rose Downey) provokes a moral and spiritual dilemma."

Room Taken, meanwhile, is directed by TJ O’Grady-Peyton and is produced by Colin Farrell.

Its plot synopsis says: "Room Taken follows Isaac (Gabriel Adewusi), who, in a desperate need for a place to stay, finds an unexpected answer to his temporary homelessness when he takes refuge in the home of Victoria (Brid Brennan), an elderly blind woman, without her knowledge.

"As these two strangers coexist, a touching and unexpected bond forms between the unlikely pair."

Upon their release, JOE praised both Kneecap and The Apprentice.

About the former, we wrote in our review: "The film is fast-paced, wickedly clever and deliriously fun. Quite frankly, it’s the best Irish movie of 2024 to date and one of the best of the year – period."

As for The Apprentice, we said: "The ’70s and ’80s focus and the sharp critical eye on its subject makes The Apprentice one of the more gripping, tighter entries in the biographical drama genre in recent years."

Nominations for the 97th Academy Awards will be announced on Friday, 17 January 2025.

The Oscars ceremony itself will then take place on 3 March and will be hosted by Conan O'Brien.

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