Last year we had Brooklyn and Room flying the Irish flag at the Oscars. Saoirse Ronan was nominated for Best Actress, with Brie Larson going on to win the award for Room, but there’s been less buzz around Irish films this year, although we have high hopes in Ruth Negga for upcoming drama Loving.
Mind you, The Lobster, released earlier this year, could have a shot at this year’s Oscars.
The Lobster was shot in Ireland, co-produced by Element Distribution (the guys behind all of Lenny Abrahamson’s films as well), and stars Colin Farrell in the lead role.
Its latest win was at the Los Angeles Film Critics Awards for Best Screenplay, written by Yorgos Lanthimos and Efthymis Filippou. Between that, its win of the jury prize at Cannes, and being on a lot of critics best films of the year lists, we figure it could definitely get some noms.
Our money would be on original screenplay – after all, its story of a dystopian near future, in which single people have to find a romantic partner in forty-five days or be transformed into animals, certainly stands out.