International award for Irish web show Cuckoo

The production team behind an Irish web television show were celebrating yesterday after it won an award at the prestigious International Academy of Web Television Awards in Las Vegas.

Nikki Racklin won in the best writing category for Cuckoo, a four-part, 28-minute online drama series commissioned by RTÉ for its Storyland thread.

The show is an eerie psychological drama that features the evolving story of Niamh, a teenage schoolgirl veering off the rails who sees a digitally constructed image of a missing child from 14 years ago in a newspaper and thinks she recognises herself.

The programme’s director, Danann Breathnach, was also shortlisted in the best director category and Pagan McGrath, who plays Niamh, was shortlisted in the category of best female performance in a drama, where the other contenders included Oscar-winner Anna Paquin.

In addition to the writing gong, Racklin previously secured an award for best drama at the Atlanta Georgia GO! Web Fest and numerous shortlisting at other events.

Speaking on RTÉ’s Morning Ireland, producer Marie Caffrey said the cast and crew involved were thrilled with the win.

“What makes it so great is that the voting is from the members of the international academies,” she said. “Our peers were very impressed.”

The awards ceremony took place at the Rio All-Suites Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas and Caffrey said it took her a full 90 minutes to get from one end of the red carpet to the entrance to the auditorium, such was the level of media attention on the nominees and attendees.