A PLETHORA OF Irish filmmakers and acting talent have been nominated in this year’s Irish Film and Television Academy Awards (IFTAs).

The ceremony, which will take place at the Round Room in the Mansion House on 15 February, will be hosted by Deirdre O’Kane.

Here are the nominees across the film and drama categories:

Feature film

• Cardboard Gangsters
• Handsome Devil
• The Killing of a Sacred Deer
• Maudie
• Michael Inside
• Song of Granite

Director – Film

• Frank Berry, Michael Inside
• John Butler, Handsome Devil
• Martin McDonagh, Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri
• Mark O Connor, Cardboard Gangsters
• Aisling Walsh, Maudie

Scriptwriter – Film

• Frank Berry, Michael Inside
• Stephen Burke, Maze
• John Butler, Handsome Devil
• Nick Kelly, The Drummer and The Keeper
• Martin McDonagh, Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri

Actor in a leading role – Film

• John Connors, Cardboard Gangsters
• Colin Farrell, The Killing of a Sacred Deer
• Dafhyd Flynn, Michael Inside
• Fionn O Shea, Handsome Devil
• Tom Vaughan-Lawlor, Maze

Actress in a leading role – Film

• Sarah Bolger, Halal Daddy
• Saoirse Ronan, Lady Bird
• Ann Skelly, Kissing Candice

Actor in a supporting role – Film

• Barry Keoghan, The Killing of a Sacred Deer
• Jacob McCarthy, The Drummer and The Keeper
• Andrew Scott, Handsome Devil
• Fionn Walton, Cardboard Gangsters
• Barry Ward, Maze

Actress in a supporting role – Film

• Niamh Algar, The Drummer and The Keeper
• Sarah Carroll, The Limit Of
• Deirdre O Kane, Halal Daddy
• Victoria Smurfit, The Lears
• Fionna Hewitt Twamley, Cardboard Gangsters

George Morrison Feature Documentary

• The 34th
• A Cambodian Spring
• The Farthest
• No Stone Unturned
• The Silver Branch

Short film – Live action

• Cry Rosa
• For You
• The Secret Market
• The Tattoo
• Time Traveller
• Wave

Animated short film

• An Beal Bocht
• Angela’s Christmas
• Departure
• Late Afternoon

International Film

• Dunkirk
• Lady Bird
• Shape of Water
• Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri

International actor

• Timothee Chamelet, Call Me By Your Name
• Ethan Hawke, Maudie
• Gary Oldman, Darkest Hour
• Sam Rockwell, Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri

International actress

• Sally Hawkins, Maudie
• Sally Hawkins, Shape of Water
• Nicole Kidman, The Killing of a Sacred Deer
• Frances McDormand, Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri

Drama Categories

Drama

• Acceptable Risk
• Game of Thrones
• Line of Duty
• Paula
• Striking Out
• Vikings

Director – Drama

• David Caffrey, Peaky Blinders
• Rob Quinn, Ackley Bridge
• Steve Saint Leger, Vikings
• Dearbhla Walsh, Fargo

Scriptwriter – Drama

• Ronan Bennett, Gunpowder
• Malcolm Campbell, Ackley Bridge
• Conor McPherson, Paula
• Antoine O Flatharta, Grace Harte

Actor in a leading role – Drama

• Richard Dormer, Rellik
• Adrian Dunbar, Line Of Duty
• Brendan Gleeson, Mr Mercedes
• Cillian Murphy, Peaky Blinders
• Chris O Dowd, Get Shorty

Actress in a leading role – Drama

• Caitriona Balfe, Outlander
• Elaine Cassidy, Acceptable Risk
• Denise Gough, Paula
• Amy Huberman, Striking Out
• Ruth Negga, Preacher

Actor in a supporting role – Drama

• Liam Cunningham, Game of Thrones
• Moe Dunford, Vikings
• Aidan Gillen, Game of Thrones
• Owen McDonnell, Paula
• Jason O Mara, Marvels Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.

Actress in a supporting role – Drama

• Angeline Ball, Acceptable Risk
• Eva Birthistle, The Last Kingdom
• Jessie Buckley, Taboo
• Charlie Murphy, Peaky Blinders
• Genevieve O’Reilly, Tin Star

Cinematography

• Tom Comerford, Pilgrimage
• Richard Kendrick, Song of Granite
• Seamus McGarvey, The Greatest Showman
• Cathal Watters, Peaky Blinders

Costume Design

• Consolata Boyle, Victoria and Abdul
• Sarajane Ffrench O Carroll, The Lodgers
• Susan O Connor Cave, Vikings
• Leonie Prendergast, Pilgrimage

Editing

• Tony Cranstoun, The Farthest
• Dermot Diskin, Peaky Blinders
• Una Ni DhonghaIle, Three Girls
• Tadhg O Sullivan, Song of Granite

Makeup and hair

• Julie-Ann Ryan & Niamh Glynn, The Cured
• Clare Lambe & Sevlene Roddy, Into the Badlands
• Lorraine Glynn & Sonya Dolan, The Man Who Invented Christmas
• Dee Corcoran & Tom McInerney, Vikings

Original music

• Ray Harman, The Farthest
• Stephen McKeon, Pilgrimage
• Stephen Rennicks, Maze
• John Gerard Walsh, The Drummer and The Keeper

Production design

• Stephen Daly, Into the Badlands
• Joe Fallover, The Lodgers
• Mark Geraghty, Vikings
• John Hand, Maudie

Sound

• Steve Fanagan, Kieran Horgan, The Farthest
• Ronan Hill, Onnalee Blank, Mathew Waters, Game of Thrones
• Karl Merren Brendan Deasy, Into the Badlands
• Marco Dolle, Steve Munro, Garret Farrell, Maudie

VFX

• Tim Chauncey The Ash Lad: In the Hall of the Mountain King
• Ian Benjamin Kenny Enda O Connor The Farthest
• Ed Bruce & Nicholas Murphy, Screenscene, Game of Thrones
• Tailored Films & Bowsie Workshop, The Lodgers

Explaining the discrepancy between the number of women nominated for Best Actress in a Leading Role and the number of men nominated for the male equivalent, Áine Moriarty, chief executive of the IFTA, explained that this was: “Because there was just not a level of script written for women, it was a very low number of scripts written for lead women in the past year.”

And that has to change; we obviously have to encourage more scriptwriters [to include lead women] because you can see, obviously, films that have a female narrative and female leads, they are very commercial – they fill the box office.

She said that she does believe filmmakers are addressing the issue, as is the Irish Film Board – which has introduced a range of measures to tackle gender bias.

“We are hopeful the action being taken will address it so in the future we will have more leading female roles,” said Moriarty. “We have a dearth of supporting female actor roles.”

She added that Ireland has “only a certain size of industry”, but one that is growing.

“From year to year we might have a category that might be a little bit low in numbers in terms of who qualifies to go through,” she said.

“It has to be of a standard as well and if you bear in mind that for Saoirse’s role that’s an international role, that wasn’t an Irish scriptwriter. We need more scripts written with the protagonist, with the lead, being female.”

Moriarty described the three women who are nominated as ”spectacular performers”. “So that is brilliant, you have to celebrate the positive,” she said.

Of the Irish film industry in general, she said: “We really are punching above our weight, we are making it happen. We as the academy, we have 15 years of nurturing this talent, of showcasing this talent. To be nominated in your home country opens doors internationally.”

I think hard work by everyone behind the scenes over the last 15 years is after paying off, it really is.

Read: These are the Irish films we’ll be talking about in 2018>