Ireland picks ‘Arracht’ for Oscars' International Feature Film category
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Tom Sullivan’s Irish-language feature ‘Arracht’ is set in 1845 on the eve of the Irish famine.
Ireland has chosen its pick for Oscars 2021 Best International Feature Film category and it is ‘Arracht’.
Tom Sullivan’s Irish-language feature ‘Arracht’ is set in 1845 on the eve of the Irish famine.
In the film, fisherman Colmán Sharkey takes in a stranger at the behest of a local priest. Patsy, a former soldier in the Napoleonic wars, arrives just ahead of “the blight” that eventually wipes out the country’s potato crop, leading to the death and displacement of millions. Patsy’s subsequent actions set Colmán on a path that will take him to the edge of survival, and sanity, until he encounters an abandoned young girl who gives him a reason to live. But Colmán cannot escape the darkness of his past.
The Oscar film stars Dónall Ó Héalai, alongside Dara Devaney, Michael McElhatton, and newcomer Saise Ní Chúinn. Read more Oscar related stories here.
The film world premiered at the 2019 Tallinn Black Nights Film Festival, and won two Irish Academy Awards at this year’s virtual IFTA ceremony.
On the Oscar entry, the film’s director, Tom Sullivan said, “I am overjoyed with the news that ‘Arracht’ has been chosen by the IFTA selection committee to represent Ireland in the Oscar’s best international film category. This is recognition of the team’s work and dedication and to be considered on this level is a huge honor and beyond exciting. It’s been a funny old year to be in the film business but the support ‘Arracht’ has received from everyone has really kept us going.”
The 93rd Academy Awards will take place on April 25, 2021.