Pat Shortt wins at Evening Standard Awards
Pat Shortt was awarded the Best Actor prize at last weekend's Evening Standard Awards for his performance in Lenny Abrahamson's Garage. The award was presented jointly to himself and Michael Sheen, the star of Frost/Nixon. Oscar nominee Martin McDonagh also picked up the prize for Best Screenplay for his hit film In Bruges while Steve McQueen's feature debut Hunger beat Oscar front-runner Slumdog Millionaire to win the Best Film category.In Garage, Shortt plays the role of Josie, the caretaker of a crumbling petrol station in small-town Ireland. The film tells the story of his hapless search for intimacy over the course of a summer which sees his little niche threatened and his life changed forever. Being one of Ireland's best-loved comedians Shortt commented that the character would surprise audiences..."People will forget about the Pat Shortt that they know as the film is just so very believable. They'll get lost in it. A lot of people will identify with the rural life and with that type of character."
The IFB funded film Garage is no stranger to awards as it won the prestigious CICAE Art and Essai Cinema prize at the Cannes Film Festival in 2007. It also received a handful of awards at last years IFTAs including Best Film, Best Actor, Best Director and Best Script. It has been successful in other international festivals - Turin Film Festival, Monte Carlo Film Festival, Festival de Chatenay Malabry, Festival Cinessone, Dinard Film Festival to name but a few. It was the second film from director Lenny Abrahamson and writer Mark O'Halloran the team behind the award-winning black comedy Adam & Paul and was produced by Element Films.
The Evening Standard Awards which have been running since 1973 focus on British and Irish talent in films and are selected by a jury of film critics.