Awards Season: Irish film Song of the Sea nominated for Oscar

The Academy of Motion Pictures and the Arts has announced the nominations for the 87th Academy Awards. Irish animation Song of the Sea from Kilkenny based studio Cartoon Saloon is up for Best Animated Feature.

The film, which marks director Tomm Moore and Cartoon Saloon’s second Oscar nomination (following The Secret of Kells), follows Ben and his little sister Saoirse, the last selkie, who can transform from seals to people, and her journey to the sea, to find her voice and sing the “Song of the Sea” to save all of fairy kind from being lost forever.

Birdman and The Grand Budapest Hotel lead the nominations with nine apiece, British film The Imitation Game has received eight, and Boyhood and American Sniper get six each.

Northern Irish short film Boogaloo and Graham picked up a nomination for Best Short Film – Live Action. The film, which is directed by Michael Lennox, and written by Ronan Blaney, is set in 1970s Belfast and follows two young boys as they discover the facts of life aided by the help of their pet chickens.

Elsewhere Dublin designer Annie Atkins’ work on The Grand Budapest Hotel has been recognised with a Production Design nod. Irish director John Carney’s Begin Again also received an Oscar nomination for Best Original Song.

Surprises include no Animation nomination for The Lego Movie, as well as only two nominations for race-relations drama Selma. Bennett Miller’s Foxcatcher received four nominations, including Best Actor and Best Director, but is absent from the Best Picture list, which this year contains 8 of a possible 10 nominees.

Speaking of the Academy Award nomination, IFB Chief Executive James Hickey said: “Congratulations to Irish filmmakers and animators Tomm Moore, Will Collins, Paul Young and the entire Cartoon Saloon team, who deserve to be nominated along with the best talent in the world this year. With their previous feature film The Secret of Kells, Cartoon Saloon proved themselves more than capable of standing alongside the most renowned names in global animation and a second Academy Award nomination for the company has cemented this reputation of world-class talent. Song of the Sea is a beautiful film, bringing Irish myths and legends to the big screen with stunning storytelling and visual perspective.”

“This is a big day for the Irish animation industry and as the largest funder of Irish animation content in the state, the Irish Film Board hope that this achievement will lead to further growth and international recognition for an industry that is a major Irish success story.”

The film received support from the BAI’s Sound and Vision scheme to the tune of €500,000.

In congratulating Cartoon Saloon, Michael O’Keeffe, CEO of the BAI said:  “This is a significant boost for Irish animation in general, and Cartoon Saloon and the film’s director, Tomm Moore, deserve huge congratulation.  We now remain hopeful of further success on Oscar night.

“The BAI – together with other partners – was pleased to support the making of this film and it should help in highlighting Irish film-making and animation,” he added.

Full list of nominations:

Best Picture
Birdman
Boyhood
Selma
The Theory of Everything
The Imitation Game
The Grand Budapest Hotel
American Sniper
Whiplash

Animated Feature Film
Big Hero 6
How to Train Your Dragon 2
The Boxtrolls
The Tale of the Princess Kaguya
Song of the Sea

Actress in a Leading Role
Julianne Moore, Still Alice
Felicity Jones, The Theory of Everything
Rosamund Pike, Gone Girl
Reese Witherspoon, Wild
Marion Cotillard, Two Days One Night

Actor in a Leading Role
Michael Keaton, Birdman
Eddie Redmayne, The Theory of Everything
Benedict Cumberbatch, The Imitation Game
Steve Carell, Foxcatcher
Bradley Cooper, American Sniper

Directing
Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu, Birdman
Richard Linklater, Boyhood
Wes Anderson, The Grand Budapest Hotel
Morten Tyldum, The Imitation Game
Bennett Miller, Foxcatcher

Actress in a Supporting Role
Patricia Arquette, Boyhood
Emma Stone, Birdman
Keira Knightley, The Imitation Game
Meryl Streep, Into the Woods
Laura Dern, Wild

Actor in a Supporting Role
J.K. Simmons, Whiplash
Edward Norton, Birdman
Ethan Hawke, Boyhood
Mark Ruffalo, Foxcatcher
Robert Duvall, The Judge

Foreign Language Film
Ida
Leviathan
Tangerines
Wild Tales
Timbuktu

Writing – Adapted Screenplay
Graham Moore, The Imitation Game
Damien Chazelle, Whiplash
Anthony McCarten, The Theory of Everything
Jason Hall, American Sniper
Paul Thomas Anderson, Inherent Vice

Writing – Original Screenplay
Richard Linklater, Boyhood
Alejandro González Iñárritu, Nicolás Giacobone, Alexander Dinelaris and Armando Bo, Birdman
Wes Anderson and Hugo Guinness, The Grand Budapest Hotel
Dan Gilroy, Nightcrawler
E. Max Frye and Dan Futterman, Foxcatcher

Cinematography
Emmanuel Lubezki, Birdman
Roger Deakins, Unbroken
Robert D. Yeoman, The Grand Budapest Hotel
Dick Pope, Mr. Turner
Lukasz Zal and Ryszard Lynzewski, Ida

Music – Original Score
Hans Zimmer, Interstellar
Alexandre Desplat, The Imitation Game
Johann Johannsson, The Theory of Everything
Alexandre Desplat, The Grand Budapest Hotel
Gary Yershon, Mr Turner

Makeup and Hairstyling
Foxcatcher
The Grand Budapest Hotel
Guardians of the Galaxy

Costume Design
Colleen Atwood, Into the Woods
Anna B. Sheppard, Maleficent
Milena Canonero, The Grand Budapest Hotel
Jacqueline Durran, Mr. Turner
Mark Bridges, Inherent Vice

Music – Original Song
Glory by Common and John Legend, Selma
Lost Stars by Gregg Alexander, Danielle Brisebois, Nick Lashley and Nick Southwood, Begin Again
Everything Is Awesome by Shawn Patterson, The LEGO Movie
I’m Not Gonna Miss You, by Glen Campbell, Glenn Campbell: I’ll Be Me
Grateful, Beyond the lights

Visual Effects
Interstellar
Dawn of the Planet of the Apes
Guardians of the Galaxy
Captain America: Winter Soldier
X-Men: Days of Future Past

Documentary Short Subject
Crisis Hotline: Veterans Press 1
Joanna
Our Curse
White Earth
The Reaper

Documentary Feature
Citizenfour
Last Days in Vietnam
Virunga
The Salt of the Earth
Finding Vivian Maier

Film Editing
Sandra Adair, Boyhood
Tom Cross, Whiplash
William Goldenberg, The Imitation Game
Joel Cox and Gary Roach, American Sniper
Barney Pilling, The Grand Budapest Hotel

Sound Editing
Interstellar
Unbroken
The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies
American Sniper
Birdman

Sound Mixing
Mark Weingarten, Interstellar
Thomas Curley, Whiplash
Unbroken
American Sniper
Birdman

Production Design
Into the Woods
The Grand Budapest Hotel
Interstellar
The Imitation Game
Mr. Turner

Short Film – Live Action
Boogaloo and Graham
Aya
Butterlamp
Parvenah
The Phone Call

Short Film – Animated
Feast
The Bigger Picture
A Single Life
The Dam Keeper
Me and My Moulton