Irish queer favourites win big at 2024 IFTA Awards

Queer actors and filmmakers won big at the 21st annual Irish Film and Television Academy (IFTA) Awards on Saturday, April 20.

Running since 1999, the IFTA Awards celebrate the best of Irish talent in film and television. This year, the ceremony was hosted by Emmy-winning broadcaster Baz Ashmawy at the Dublin Royal Convention Centre and was broadcast on RTÉ.

Awards were given for 28 different categories. While Cillian Murphy beat out the likes of Andrew Scott and Barry Keoghan to win the Best Actor award for his role in Oppenheimer, there were also several LGBTQ+ wins, including for All of Us Strangers‘ Paul Mescal, queer director Kate Dolan, and Saltburn‘s Alison Oliver.

Paul Mescal won the Best Supporting Actor in Film award for his performance in All of Us Strangers. While he wasn’t there to accept the award in person, fans applauded for his unforgettable role as Harry in the romantic fantasy film based on the 1987 novel Strangers by Taichi Yamada.

Kate Dolan won Best Director Drama for her work in Season 2 of Kin which tells the story of Dublin’s Kinsella family who are involved in a bloody gangland war. After accepting her award, the queer Irish director shared: “Thanks so much to everyone who voted for me! It was such a lovely surprise!”

Kin took home several awards including Best Drama, Lead Actress in a Drama (Clare Dunne), Supporting Actress in a Drama (Maria Doyle Kennedy), and Best Script Drama (Peter McKenna).

Finally, Cork native Alison Oliver won in the Supporting Actress category for her role as Venetia Catton in Saltburn.

While Alison couldn’t be there in person, she shared an Instagram post thanking the IFTAs for the award and sharing: “this means the world to me. I have so much admiration for the women in this category, ye are all astonishing – special shout-out to my best friend Aggi who won best leading actress last night!! I am just in awe!”

She added: “I share this with the entire cast and crew of saltburn , especially emerald whose genius made all of this possible. It was the greatest gift to be in her orb everyday, thank you for everything 🧡 thank you ifta I am so so grateful x”.

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