Omagh docu-drama short-listed for award

A dramatisation of the 1998 Omagh bombings which left 29 people dead was among five films nominated for a prestigious Irish award tonight.

The powerful docu-drama, Omagh, was short-listed for the AIB Irish Film Award alongside Blind Flight, Bloom, Cowboys & Angels and Song for a Raggy Boy.

Aine Moriarty, the chief executive of the Irish Film and Television Network which organises the event, said: “The Awards deliver an excellent platform to honour and celebrate outstanding Irish achievement, putting the spotlight on Irish talent and production in Ireland and internationally.”

Omagh, which examines the events and the devastating aftermath of the Real IRA attack has already selected for the San Sebastian Film Festival.

This year’s winners will be announced at the Irish Film and Television Awards ceremony, which takes place in Dublin’s Burlington Hotel on October 30, 2004.

Blind Flight tells the true story of Irishman Brian Keenan and Englishman John McCarthy who spent four and a half years confined together in a cell as hostages in the Lebanon.

The James Joyce epic Ulysses also features in the award listings in the adaptation of Leopold Bloom’s wanderings on June 16, 1904.

Bloom stars Academy Award Nominee, Stephen Rea, IFTA Award Winner, Angeline Ball, Hugh O’Conor and Patrick Bergin.

The other two nominees include Cowboys & Angels, directed by David Gleeson, and Song for a Raggy Boy starring Aidan Quinn.

The nominees for the Jameson International Film Award include Michael Moore’s Fahrenheit 9/11, Lord of the Rings: Return of the King, Lost in Translation, Mystic River and The Passion of the Christ.

Some of last year’s audience included director Neil Jordan, actress Angeline Ball, actor Stuart Townsend, producer Jim Sheridan and pop singer Samantha Mumba.

They were joined by a host of international stars including screen star Charlize Theron, Samantha Morton, Aidan Quinn, Ioan Gruffudd and Ralph Fiennes.

The Awards Committee includes representatives from all aspects of the film and television industries, including, international film star Colin Farrell, top producer Ned Dowd and director Conor McPherson.

There are over 26 jury categories this year and both the Jameson International Film Award and the AIB Irish film Award will be voted for by the general public.