‘The 34th’, has been nominated in the George Morrison Feature Documentary category at the 2018 IFTA Film and Drama Awards.

Nominees for the George Morrison Feature Documentary

The 34th
A Cambodian Spring
The Farthest
No Stone Unturned
The Silver Branch#IFTA18 #IrishFilm #IrishTalent pic.twitter.com/z1tXDGrJqN

— Irish Film & Television Academy (IFTA) (@IFTA) January 11, 2018

Directed by Linda Cullen, ‘The 34th’ tells the story of the driven and dedicated people who formed Marriage Equality in Ireland and developed it into a highly effective grassroots force with one clear goal in mind – the extension of Civil Marriage to same-sex couples.

Through revealing interviews and archive material, former board members and staff outline the strategising, fierce battles, sheer hard graft and personal cost of running such an all-consuming campaign.

https://youtu.be/zSK9GphDM7I

The film was featured at the 2017 GAZE International LGBT Film Festival in Dublin where it received two awards: The Audience Award and The Spirit of GAZE award.

The film received such an overwhelming response at GAZE, it went on to hold special screenings in the Lighthouse and is currently on the festival circuit.

Other documentaries also nominated in the category include The Farthest and No Stone Unturned.

Gender Imbalance Across 2018 IFTA Nominations

The proportion of male nominations in comparison to female nominations across the majority of categories with only three females being nominated for ‘Leading Actress in a Film’.

Nominees for Actress in a Leading Role Film

Sarah Bolger, Halal Daddy
Saoirse Ronan, Lady Bird
Ann Skelly, Kissing Candice#IFTA18 #IrishFilm #IrishTalent pic.twitter.com/URFJR7hrdY

— Irish Film & Television Academy (IFTA) (@IFTA) January 11, 2018

5 males were nominated for the respective ‘Leading Actor in a Film’ award.

Una Mullally  tweeted a photo of nominees in each category broken down by gender. She added, “A quick breakdown of gender in categories that name individuals, where women are absent from five categories and men from two.

“The awards reflect the industry. A lot more work to be done to see women better represented.”

https://twitter.com/UnaMullally/status/951422296249561088

This afternoon, Bord Scannán na hÉireann/the Irish Film Board (IFB) released a statement regarding the imbalance.

Annie Doona, Chair of IFB said:

“I would like to express my disappointment at the gender imbalance that has emerged in the shortlists for almost every category of award.

“Achieving 50/50 gender equality within the sector remains an utmost priority for the IFB and we have undertaken a number of measures to ensure that Irish female talent is encouraged and visible within the industry. It is vitally important that the stories Irish films portray represent a contemporary image of Ireland in all its diversity, inclusivity and originality of voice.”

You can see a full list of all this year’s nominees here.