We've been hearing a lot about The Favourite and will be hearing more come the Oscars
The Favourite has been doing extraordinarily well this awards season and you've probably heard it referred to as waving the flag for us. You may be wondering though, how exactly is The Favourite Irish? We explain it here.
The Favourite relates how while Queen Anne (Olivia Colman) becomes increasingly ill, her confidante and advisor Sarah (Rachel Weisz) and scullery maid Abigail (Emma Stone) fight for power and attention.
The film has earned high acclaim and various accolades. Olivia Colman took the Best Actress (Comedy/Musical) Golden Globe home just weeks ago.
The Favourite is a co-production between Ireland, the UK and USA. Many Irish films are co-productions because of the limited resources and funds available for filmmaking in Ireland.
The Irish production company behind The Favourite is Element Pictures. In the past, Element produced such Irish classics as 'The Magdalene Sisters', 'The Wind That Shakes the Barley' and 'The Guard'.
Element has also worked on various co-productions (including the Oscar-winning Room). The Favourite actually marks the third occasion on which the company has worked with Greek director Yorgos Lanthimos.
Lanthimos first made a name for himself with his 2009 film Dogtooth. However, it is his English language films that have brought him into the mainstream (somewhat anyway). This began with The Lobster in 2015 and continued with Killing of a Sacred Deer in 2017. Both won awards at Cannes and both were produced by Element.
Element co-founder Ed Guiney is one of four producers on The Favourite (which means if it wins Best Picture at the Academy Awards, we'll have an Irish rep right there on the Oscars stage). Andrew Lowe, also from Element, is an executive producer.
Aside from being partly post-produced in Dublin, another connection that makes The Favourite Irish is its DoP, Robbie Ryan.
The Irish cinematographer has worked on such films as American Honey, Slow West and I, Daniel Blake in the past. His latest work is phenomenal as he elegantly captures the period costumes and set decoration; elsewhere, his extreme angles and lenses compliment the absurdist nature of the comedy.