Cailin Ciuin makes history as first Irish language film shortlisted for Best International Feature film Academy award

Ireland’s Oscar entry, An cailin ciuin / The quiet girl has been shortlisted by The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences for this year’s Best International Feature Film category.  

Speaking on the film’s shortlist selection, Writer/Director, Colm Bairéad and Producer, Cleona Ní Chrualaoi from Inscéal, the production company behind the film, said:

“We are absolutely thrilled that An Cailín Ciúin / The Quiet Girl has been shortlisted by the Academy for Best International Feature Film and we are particularly proud to be the first Irish-language film to have achieved this. What an historic moment for Irish-language cinema! We feel privileged and honoured to continue to represent Ireland as An Cailín Ciúin / The Quiet Girl bids to secure a nomination at the 95th Academy Awards. We couldn’t have made it this far without the incredible support of Screen Ireland, TG4, the Broadcasting Authority of Ireland and the hard work and dedication of our distributors. Special thanks also to the Irish Film and Television Academy for its invaluable support and commitment and to the audiences who came in such record numbers to see our film so far”. 

The film is an adaptation of Wicklow woman Claire Keegans novella ‘Foster’. The story of a young girl who is sent to a childless foster home in rural Ireland as her mother gives birth to yet another sibling.

By the end, nothing is truer than when Edna, the foster mother tells the girl: “If you were mine, I’d never leave you in a house with strangers.”

An Cailin Ciuin is one of 15 films shortlisted from 92 countries who made submissions in this category. This is the first time that an Irish-language film has been shortlisted in this category and only the second Irish film ever to reach the category’s shortlist stage (VIVA, 2016). The film has been on an extraordinary journey since its World Premiere at the Berlin Film Festival in February, racking up a host of awards which include the Grand Prix of the Generation Kplus International Jury for Best Film, no less than 7 Irish Film and Television Academy (IFTA) Awards and a multitude of Jury and Audience Awards from film festivals across the globe.  

Director Colm Bairéad was also the recipient of the Screen Ireland-IFTA Rising Star Award.

The film enjoyed a record breaking box office release in Irish cinemas this year, running for over six months and grossing more than €1m at the Ireland-UK box office, making it the highest grossing Irish-language film of all time and one of the most critically and commercially successful Irish films of recent years. In the past few weeks, the film has been included on many end-of-year “Best Films of 2022” lists including The Hollywood Reporter, Sight & Sound, Screen International, The Guardian, Observer (New York), The Observer (UK), The New Statesman, The Irish Times and many more. A UK-based sales agent has already secured a slew of worldwide distribution deals for the film.