Ireland Picks Irish-Language Heist Thriller 'Aontas' for 2027 Oscar Race
Ireland has chosen the Irish-language heist thriller Aontas as its submission for the best international feature film category at the 2027 Academy Awards — the 99th Oscars — according to Variety.
The Irish Film & TV Academy, the body that officially selects Ireland's Oscar entry for the category, announced the choice on 28 August 2026. Countries around the world are currently in the process of selecting and submitting their own contenders, with the international feature film campaign for 2027 already well underway, per Deadline.
Aontas was directed by Damian McCann, who co-wrote the screenplay with Sarah Gordon. The film follows three thieves — led by a woman on the edge of a breakdown — who rob a rural Irish bank. The story unfolds in reverse chronology, peeling back layers of the heist by moving backward through time. It stars Carrie Crowley, Bríd Brennan, Eva-Jane Gaffney, Seán T. Ó Meallaigh, Marcus Lamb and Art Parkinson.
Órfhlaith Ní Chearnaigh and Christopher Myers produced the film for Púca Pictures. Funding came from TG4, BBC Gaeilge and Northern Ireland Screen's Irish Language Broadcast Fund, with post-production support from Yellowmoon. The entire shoot took 18 days in the Glens of Antrim.
The IFTA selection committee that chose Aontas carried some notable names: director Lee Cronin, Derry Girls creator Lisa McGee, directors Brian Kirk and Kathryn Ferguson, actress and filmmaker Aisha Tyler, actress Fionnuala Flaherty, and IFTA chief executive Áine Moriarty.
Ireland has been building a track record in this Oscar category. The Quiet Girl, the 2023 Irish-language drama, became the country's first-ever nominee for best international feature film. The following year, the rap biopic Kneecap earned a place on the Oscar shortlist — the round of finalists from which the nominees are drawn. Aontas was also one of six films nominated for Best Film at the 2026 IFTA Awards, the Irish academy's own ceremony, held on 20 February and hosted by Kevin McGahern.
The international feature film category — formerly called best foreign language film — honours a feature-length production made outside the United States, predominantly in a language other than English. Each country may submit one film. A jury of Academy members then whittles the submissions down to a shortlist and, eventually, the final nominees.
For Aontas, the road from here is familiar but demanding: shortlisting by the Academy, then a nomination in January 2027, and the ceremony itself. The film has already cleared the first hurdle — Ireland has put it forward.
