This years shortlist, however, paints 2022 as being far from such a one-horse race.
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For directorColm Bairead, making the shortlist was an achievement in itself.
Says Bairead, No Irish film has ever been nominated in this category at the Academy awards.
Catherine Clinch in ‘The Quiet Girl.‘Bankside Films/Everett Collection
Was it obvious to Bairead that his creation would be so enduring?
I remember at the end of a particular viewing being overwhelmed, emotionally.
Its that magical and slightly dangerous moment where you fall in love with the work.
From left, Kate Nic Chonaonaigh and Catherine Clinch inThe Quiet Girl.Bankside Films/Everett Collection
It just kept growing and growing, he recalls, holding screens across the two territories.
Which is, in itself, reflective of a broader audience response, I think.
He recalls Bong Joon-hos Oscar acceptance speech, in which theParasitedirector joked about the one-inch-tall barrier of subtitles.
Read the digital edition of Deadline’s The Best of 2022 magazinehere.
People are happily stepping over that now, he says.
That veil has been lifted.
It was just a question of harnessing that and honoring it in a new medium.
Might that have something to do with its success?
What will survive of us is love, wrote the great poet Philip Larkin.
That same message applies to this film.
