Two of the five short live action films nominated for this year’s Academy Awards have Irish roots. Peter McDonald and Eimear O'Kane’s ‘Pentecost’ and Terry George and Oorlagh George’s ‘The Shore’ are going head to head on the February 26th presentation of the Oscars.

‘Pentecost’ is an eleven minute film that is the directorial debut for Irish film and theatre actor Peter McDonald. The short film unifies the worlds of Church and sport when a young altar boy is given a chance at redemption after having flawed a Mass two weeks earlier by knocking the presiding priest off the altar.

As punishment, the boy’s father banned him from watching soccer, the sport he’s most passionate about. Should he do well in today’s Mass, though, the ban will be lifted just in time for the youngster to cheer on his favorite team in the European Cup final match.

“I think people in Ireland particularly connected with the material. Hopefully, it’s universal but … they understand the role the Mass plays within a small town like that -– it’s very much a public event,” said McDonald of the film which was shot in Dublin and Wicklow.
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The other Irish film nominated is ‘The Shore’ which was filmed and based in Killough in Northern Ireland.

“Starring Ciaran Hinds, ‘The Shore’ is about a man who emigrated to America 25 years ago to escape the Troubles and is now bringing his daughter back to meet his childhood friends,” writes the BBC.

Delighted and honored with the nomination, film creator Terry George said “It's the highest accolade you can get from your peers and the industry. What's special about this is that the tiny little film we made with my family and the people of Killough, County Down, taking it to the Oscars is an amazing achievement.”

Both of the Irish made films impressively beat out 107 other nominations to make the short list for this year’s Academy Awards.

Trailer for ‘Pentecost’:

Trailer for ‘The Shore’: