Tale of disabled Dubliners dances toward top film award
The front-runner is at 15/8, with bookies sure the tale of the problems faced by two disabled Dubliners will impress the judges.
O’Donnell’s third feature, shot in his native Dublin, already won the Audience Award at the Edinburgh International Film Festival.
But the dark comedy, Adam and Paul, which chronicles the lives of two Dublin junkies, is hot on its heels at 2/1 to impress at the Irish Film and Television Awards in November.
The odds on the Northern Ireland production, Mickybo and Me, taking the accolade stand at 3/1.
Terry Loane’s light-hearted feature follows the lives of two boys, one Catholic and one Protestant, dreaming of escaping strife-torn 1970s Belfast.
The outsider at this early stage seems to be comedy-crime caper Headrush at 10/3, according to bookmakers Boylesports.
The award is one of the five People’s Choice categories voted for by the general public. Some of the previous winners include Song for a Raggy Boy and Veronica Guerin.
Robert Rodriguez’s Sin City is predicted to shine at the IFTAs in the Jameson International Film of the Year category with Boylesports offering odds of 6/4.
Next in line is one of this year’s emotive hits, Crash, at 11/8, while the children’s favourite Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, a box-office hit, is in at 5/1. Tim Burton left his signature on the Roald Dahl classic about eccentric chocolate-maker Willy Wonka and Charlie.
The latest in the caped crusader’s series, Batman Begins, starring Irish actors Liam Neeson and Cillian Murphy, is at odds of 10/1.
The winners will be announced at an awards ceremony on November 5.
Votes for the Jameson International Film Award can be lodged by texting the word ‘Film’ to 53799 or ‘Irish’ to 53799 for the AIB People’s Choice Award for Best Irish Film.
