\n\t\u201cAontas,\u201d the Irish-language heist thriller from director Damian McCann, has been chosen as Ireland\u2019s entry for the best international feature film category at the 2027 Academy Awards. <\/p>\n
\n\tThe film was selected by the Irish Film & TV Academy (IFTA) and a committee including \u201cEvil Dead Rise\u201d director Lee Cronin, \u201cDerry Girls\u201d creator Lisa McGee, BAFTA-nominated director Brian Kirk (\u201cGame of Thrones), BAFTA nominated director Kathryn Ferguson (\u201cNothing Compares\u201d), Emmy-winning actress and filmmaker Aisha Tyler (\u201cFriends\u201d), actress Fionnuala Flaherty (\u201cKneecap\u201d) and IFTA chief executive \u00c1ine Moriarty. <\/p>\n
\n\tTold in reverse chronology, \u201cAontas\u201d follows three unlikely thieves, led by a woman on the verge of a breakdown, who rob a rural Irish bank. Opening in the tragic aftermath of the heist-gone-wrong. What starts as a poorly executed robbery becomes a portrait of a wilful woman trapped in her own past. It stars Carrie Crowley (\u201cThe Quiet Girl \u201c), Br\u00edd Brennan, Eva-Jane Gaffney, Se\u00e1n T. \u00d3 Meallaigh, Marcus Lamb and Art Parkinson.<\/p>\n
\n\tWritten by Sarah Gordon and McCann, \u201cAontas\u201d was produced by \u00d3rfhlaith N\u00ed Chearnaigh and Christopher Myers for P\u00faca Pictures, with funding from TG4, BBC Gaeilge and Northern Ireland Screen\u2019s Irish Language Broadcast Fund, and support from Yellowmoon.<\/p>\n
\n\t\u201cIt is such an honour that \u2018Aontas\u2019 has been selected to represent Ireland at the 99th Academy Awards. Thank you so much to IFTA and to the committee for their support. I was bringing some soggy washing in out of the rain when the news arrived \u2013 what a turnaround of a day,\u201d said McCann. <\/p>\n
\n\t\u201cWe\u2019ve been overwhelmed by the film\u2019s journey so far \u2013 what feels like a very specifically Irish story seems to have really resonated with International audiences. My co-writer Sarah Gordon and I wrote the script in the attic of our house and we shot over 18 rainy days in the Glens of Antrim. We could never have imagined that this is where the journey might take us, but it\u2019s a testament to the staggering graft and boundless optimism of our cast and crew.\u201d<\/p>\n