2025
Screen Ireland - IFTA Rising Stars
Each year The Irish Film & Television Academy puts a spotlight on great Irish talent making a significant mark in the film industry with the Screen Ireland Rising Star Award. These exciting winners over the last decade have shown themselves to be world class talents in their respective fields.
Meet the Screen Ireland IFTA Rising Stars
2024
Siobhán Cullen
Siobhán Cullen has appeared in films such as The Inside, The Limehouse Golem, and co-starred in IFTA-nominated The Bright Side in 2021. She has played Caroline Sheridan on IFTA-winning drama series The Dry, and in 2023 took on the lead role in Obituary. This year, she will star with Will Forte and Robyn Cara in Netflix’s Bodkin.
2023
Aoife McArdle
Aoife McArdle is a Northern Irish filmmaker whose work includes music videos, film, and television drama. She was a director and producer on the first series of the universally acclaimed Apple TV drama series, Severance, receiving DGA, Emmy, Hollywood Critics and Ifta nominations for her work.
2022
Colm Bairéad
Colm Bairéad is a TV and film director, whose body of work displays a strong commitment to the Irish language. He has directed a number of multiple award-winning short films and directed many hours of documentary television for TG4.
An Cailín Ciúin, Colm's narrative feature film debut, was nominated for the Academy Award for Best International Feature Film.
2021
Nicola Coughlan
Nicola attended The Oxford School of Drama, England where she did her foundation course in acting. Her pathbreaking performance came with the role of Clare Devlin in the TV series Derry Girls. She has also acted in the series Harlots (2018), and Bridgerton (2020).
2020
Aisling Franciosi
Aisling Franciosi is an Irish actress. She is known for her roles in the RTÉ-BBC Two crime drama television series, the HBO series Game of Thrones, Jennifer Kent's The Nightingale and the A24 produced God's Creatures.
2018
Jacob McCarthy
Born in Dublin, Jacob studied Drama at the prestigious London Academy of Music & Dramatic Art (LAMDA) for three years.
Jacob starred in Nick Kelly's The Drummer and The Keeper, which opened in Ireland in 2017 to widespread critical acclaim. Currently, Jacob resides in L.A where he is working on the NBC show A.P. Bio, written by SNL writer, Seth Myers.
2017
Patrick Gibson
Patrick Gibson has become a leading figure for aspiring Irish male talent in film and drama, having risen to international acclaim as the troubled Steve Winchell with cult Netflix series 'The OA' from Zal Batmanglij and Brit Marling. Other credits include The Tudors, Lenny Abrahamson's What Richard Did and Shadow and Bone.
2016
Stephen Fingleton
Northern Irish writer/director Stephen Fingleton studied English Literature at University College London. His big break came when his screenplay for The Survivalist was voted by executives onto Hollywood's 'Black List' and topped the UK 'Brit List' for the year's best unproduced scripts in 2013. The Survivalist premiered in 2015 at the Tribeca Film Festival to critical praise.
2015
Sarah Greene
Actress Sarah Greene won the Rising Star IFTA Award and the Supporting Actress Drama IFTA Award for her multi-layered and highly praised portrayal of humanitarian and children’s rights activist Christina Noble in the feature film ‘Noble’. Her credits include Martin McDonagh's The Cripple of Inishmaan, Vikings and Penny Dreadful.
2014
Jamie Dornan
Jamie Dornan won the IFTA Rising star award and the Lead Actor in Television Award for his intense portrayal of serial killer Paul Spector in the critically acclaimed BBC/RTC drama series The Fall. He began his career as a high profile fashion model, with his break into acting coming with a small role in Sofia Coppola's Marie Antoinette.
2013
Gerard Barrett
Director Gerard Barrett won the IFTA Rising Star Award in 2013 for his writing and directorial feature film debut Pilgrim Hill. His follow-up Glassland starred Jack Reynor as a young man who tries to help his mother.
2012
John Michael McDonagh
Director John Michael McDonagh won the IFTA Rising Star Award in 2012, along with the coveted Best Director & Script Awards for his feature film directorial debut The Guard, which received universal acclaim, gaining Golden Globe, BAFTA and Satellite Award nominations.
2011
Domhnall Gleeson
Domhnall Gleeson won the IFTA Rising Star Award in 2011 along with the Best Television Lead Actor Award for his performance as Bob Geldof in the TV Movie When Harvey Met Bob. The award was the culmination of a breakout year in 2010 which saw him gain a higher international profile with appearances in films such as Harry Potter and The Deathly Hollows and Never Let Me Go.
2010
Tomm Moore
Tomm Moore is an Irish filmmaker and illustrator who was the recipient of the IFTA Rising Star Award in 2010 for his directorial debut feature animation The Secret of Kells. Tomm co-founded Cartoon Saloon animation studio with Nora Twomey, Paul Young and Ross Murray, which has become one of the largest animation studios in Ireland.
2009
Michael Fassbender
Michael Fassbender won dual honours at the Irish Film & Television Awards in 2009, collecting both the Best Film Lead Actor and Rising Star Awards for his role as prisoner Bobby Sands in the film Hunger. Raised in Co. Kerry, his first major role was in Steven Spielberg's 2001 award-winning mini-series Band of Brothers. He is the recipient of various accolades, including a Screen Actors Guild Award, a Critics' Choice Movie Award, and nominations for two Academy Awards, four British Academy Film Awards and three Golden Globe Awards.
2008