Irish Films On Oscar, Sundance Lists

Two Irish feature films have been selected for the prestigious Sundance Film Festival, while two short films have made it onto a long list for the Academy Awards.

The news was welcomed by Culture Minister Mary Hanafin who said it was "a marvellous achievement" and another example of the "great track record that Irish film makers have internationally".

The Guard, will be the opening film at the Sundance Festival, and will compete in the World Cinema Dramatic Competition.

Directed by John Michael McDonagh, it tells the story of a small-town Garda played by Brendan Gleeson, who joins forces with an FBI agent played by Don Cheadle to tackle an international drugs ring.

The cast also includes a host of Irish acting talent including Pat Shortt (Garage), Fionnoula Flanagan (Lost), and Liam Cunningham (Hunger).

"I would like to thank the Sundance programers for giving The Guard the opening night slot for films in the International Competition, which shows their commitment to the film," said director McDonagh.

Also competing at Sundance will be Knuckle, a documentary about the brutal world of bare-knuckle fighting in the Irish Traveller community.

The film was directed, produced, shot and narrated by Ian Palmer over a 12-year-period and follows the violent feuding between two clans, focussing in particular on two brothers, James Quinn McDonagh and his brother Michael.

"It is fantastic news," said Palmer, "It's been a long, long journey making this film. It has been a central part of my life for the past 13 years."

"It started on a quiet country lane in County Louth in 1997, and now will finally emerge in the Rocky Mountains in Utah in 2011. It's like a dream and I couldn't think of a better place for the film to be premiered than Sundance."

The Sundance festival was founded Robert Redford and is known as a showcase for the best in independent cinema.

It takes place in Utah at the end of January, and previous winners at the competition include Quentin Tarantino, Paul Thomas Anderson and Steven Soderbergh.

Meanwhile, two Irish directors have their fingers crossed that they may make it all the way to the Oscars in February.

Shoe, directed by Nick Kelly, and The Crush, directed by Michael Creagh have made the shortlist of ten live action shorts that will considered for nominations for next year's Academy Awards.

76 short films from around the world had originally qualified in the category, but that has now been whittled down to just ten.

Members of the Academy will now shorten that list to three to five nominees for the 2011 Oscars, and they will be announced alongside all the other nominations at the end of January.

Shoe is a darkly comic tale of a man who is about to kill himself, when a crazy beggar keeps spoiling the mood for him.

The Crush tells the story of an eight-year-old boy who falls in love with his teacher.

Irish films have fared well in the Short Live Action category in recent years - Martin McDonagh's "Six Shooter" won the award in 2006, while Steph Green's "New Boy" and Juanita Wilson's "The Door" received nominations in 2009 and 2010.