The directors and a star of Oscar-winning An Irish Goodbye have been honoured at one of the world’s most prestigious festivals for short films.
Belfast actor James Martin and directors Tom Berkeley and Ross White received awards at the first international edition of the HollyShorts festival.
The annual Oscar-qualifying festival takes place annually in Hollywood, and its recent London off-shoot event was held to mark its 21st year.
An Irish Goodbye won the Best Short Film Oscar in February 2023 at the 95th Academy Awards in L.A with its directors joined on stage to accept the award by James Martin and his co-star Seamus O’Hara.
The film also won Best British Short at the 2023 Baftas in London and the Live Action Short Film gong at last year’s Irish Film and Television Awards.
At last weekend’s London HollyShorts event, Martin was presented with a special Trailblazer Award.
A festival spokesperson said the Belfast actor’s “pivotal role in An Irish Goodbye led to him being the first star with Down Syndrome to win at the Academy Awards”.
Meanwhile, both Tom Berkeley and Ross White were named among recipients of the HollyShorts Honoree Award alongside three other directors whose shorts won or were nominated in the Oscar category in previous years - Chris Overton, Misan Harriman and Jamie Donoughue.
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The festival win caps a busy year for James Martin, who received an MBE for services to drama in Northern Ireland during a ceremony at Windsor Castle in May.
He was also cast to star in a new film about the murder of Declan Flynn in Dublin in 1982 - a vicious crime that is remembered as the catalyst of the gay rights movement in Ireland.
In November, Martin met the Prince of Wales during the royal’s visit to the Belfast Ulster University campus.
That meeting came a month after a new mural was unveiled at Winetavern Street in Belfast city centre depicting the stars and directors of An Irish Goodbye and celebrating their Oscar success.
