Actor, James Martin & Director, Ross White set their sights on winning an Oscar for An Irish Goodbye
7th March, 2023
An Irish Goodbye is a 2022 short film directed by Tom Berkeley and Ross White. The film recently won Best British Short Film at the 76th EE BAFTA Awards and is nominated for the Oscar for Best Live Action Short Film at the 95th Academy Awards which take place this Sunday 12 March in Hollywood, Los Angeles.
The film was shot on location Derry~Londonderry, Templepatrick and Saintfield and stars James Martin, Seamus O'Hara, Paddy Jenkins and Michelle Fairley. An Irish Goodbye is a dark comedy set on a rural farm in Northern Ireland that tells a story of two estranged brothers, one with Down’s Syndrome, played by James Martin, who come together after their mother's death to set about to fulfil their mother's "bucket list" with her ashes before they sell off the family farm. Sunday will be a double celebration for actor James Martin as he celebrates his birthday and attends the Academy Awards, thanks to The National Lottery players and the Arts Council of Northern Ireland.
Recently the Arts Council had the chance to chat to Ross and James about the film ahead of the big night on 12 March.
One of the film’s directors, Ross White received a grant of £1,125 in 2020-21 from NI Screen for Short Film Development support, a programme that is funded by The National Lottery through the Arts Council of Northern Ireland and more recently actor James Martin received £1,286 of National Lottery funding through the Arts Council’s Travel Awards to support him and an accessibility support worker to attend the Academy Awards.
Alison McCrudden, Head of Literature and Drama, Arts Council of Northern Ireland, commented,
“Huge congratulations to the team and cast of An Irish Goodbye in winning a BAFTA and being nominated for an Oscar. Thanks to The National Lottery players, the film received support in its development stage back in 2020-21 and now National Lottery funding is supporting actor James Martin to attend the Oscar ceremony in Hollywood. The Arts Council of Northern Ireland is thrilled for all involved and wish them every success this Sunday at the Oscars - they’ve already won just by being in the room!”
Selected cinemas will present a special screening of An Irish Goodbye as part of their Homecoming Tour. The screening will be followed by a Q&A with cast and crew. Visit www.floodlightpictures.co.uk for details.