WEST HOLLYWOOD, CA - FEBRUARY 24: (L-R) Actor Chris O'Dowd, Irish Film Board Member James Hickey and Colin Farrell attend The Irish Film Board and IDA celebrating the success of Irish cinema at Laurel Hardware on February 24, 2016 in West Hollywood, California. (Photo by Michael Kovac/Getty Images for Irish Film Board)

#IrishFilm: Leading lights of Irish Film attend Irish Film Board and IDA event in Los Angeles

As part of an effort to maximise every opportunity presented by the unprecedented Irish showing at this year’s Academy Awards, Bord Scannán na hÉireann/ the Irish Film Board and IDA Ireland last night (February 24th) hosted a networking event in Los Angeles, attended by the US studios, distributors, talent agents, content platforms, film financiers and entertainment technology companies.

The ‘Irish Creativity and Innovation in the Limelight’ event aimed to drive investment, to promote Ireland as a production and innovation destination in Los Angeles, and to further build Ireland’s international reputation as a creative and innovation hub.

Amongst those attending the event were the Irish Ambassador to the US Anne Anderson, Irish Academy Award nominees Lenny Abrahamson (Room), Ed Guiney (Room), and Ben Cleary (STUTTERER), actors Colin Farrell (The Lobster) Chris O’Dowd (Calvary, Moone Boy), and Fionnuala Flanagan. Amongst the representatives from leading technology companies, was Managing Director of Daqri, Dana Morgan.

Other Irish Academy Award nominees will arrive in LA in the coming days to attend the 88th Academy Awards ceremony on Sunday night.

The 88th Academy Awards®, recognised as the world’s most influential and high profile film award ceremony, features seven nominations for films supported by the Irish Film Board, and a total of nine nominations for Irish creative talent. It will be televised in 200 countries and watched by an estimated 960 million viewers worldwide.

Irish nominees in the 88th Academy Awards® are as follows:

  • Best Picture: Room, Brooklyn
  • Best Director: Lenny Abrahamson (Room)
  • Best Screenwriter: Emma Donoghue (Room) Nick Hornby (Brooklyn)
  • Best Actress: Saoirse Ronan (Brooklyn) and Brie Larson (Room)
  • Best Actor: Michael Fassbender (Steve Jobs)
  • Best Short Film (Live Action): Stutterer, Ben Cleary