‘Kneecap’ Dominates Irish Academy Awards Nominations With 17 Nods

variety.com:

Alex Ritman “Kneecap” — the Irish-language music biopic that became one of the buzziest indie films of 2024 and is now tipped for both Oscar and BAFTA recognition — has, perhaps unsurprisingly, emerged far ahead of the pack of nominees for the 2025 Irish Film & TV Academy (IFTA) awards.

Rich Peppiatt’s raucous comedy, about (and starring) the Belfast rap trio of the same name, has landed an astonishing 17 nominations for the awards, including best film, director, three of the six slots for lead actor, three of the six for supporting actress and one for Michael Fassbender in the supporting actor category. “Small Things Like These,” the considerably quieter Irish drama fronted (and produced) by Cillian Murphy has nine nominations, including lead actor for Murphy, who won the award last year for “Oppenheimer.” Having been co-produced by Irish company Tailored Films, Ali Abbasi’s Donald Trump biopic “The Apprentice” is also in the mix, with four nominations.

On the TV side, “Say Nothing,” Disney+’s critically lauded miniseries about Northern Ireland during the Troubles, leads the way with 10 nominations, followed by the second season of “Bad Sisters,” with 8.

Other names in the running include Paul Mescal (“Gladiator 2”), Saoirse Ronan (“The Outrun”), Barry Keoghan (“Bird”), Colin Farrell (“The Penguin”). “The 2025 nominees shortlisted for Irish Academy Awards this year is an incredible showcase of skill and talent in front and behind the camera,” said Academy CEO, Áine Moriarty. “There is absolutely no doubt that Irish talent is amongst the best in the world, delivering such high standards of acting, filmmaking, and storytelling.