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Young actress is nominated for IFTA shortlist  A
fledgling Irish actress is set to be honoured at home after the British
film industry tried to lay claim to her.
Rising star Saoirse Ronan from Carlow has been nominated for a homegrown
Irish Film and Television Award at the glitzy annual ceremony in the Gaiety
Theatre on February 17.
The young actress has already caught the attention of the British acting
set for her highly-regarded role opposite Keira Knightley in Atonement.
But her nomination for two awards from the London Critics Circle —
British Actress in a Supporting Role and British Breakthrough: Acting
— has caused a storm of controversy.
Dublin-shot film Once, starring the Frames frontman Glen Hansard, is nominated
for British Film Of The Year at the same awards on February 4 despite
being an Irish production.
National pride was restored when teenager Saoirse was listed for two awards
among 33 nominees on the IFTA shortlist.
The 13-year-old will compete against Elaine Cassidy (And When Did You
Last See Your Father), Anne Marie Duff (Garage) and Gail Fitzpatrick (Strength
& Honour) in the Actress in a Supporting Role category.
She has also been nominated for the new Rising Star Award which will also
be announced at the IFTA ceremony a few weeks after the London Critics
awards.
Other nominees include Martin McCann (Closing The Ring), Marion Quinn
(32A), Mark Mahon (Stren-gth & Honour) and the Taoiseach’s daughter
and writer Cecelia Ahern.
Saoirse rose to fame after she played Briony Tallis, a young writer in
Atonement.
Later this year she will appear with Bill Murray in the action fantasy
City Of Ember and star as a con artist in Death Defying Acts alongside
Catherine Zeta-Jones.
She also landed the lead role in Peter Jackson’s film version of
The Lovely Bones. |
