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Rising stars honoured with inaugural Ros Hubbard Award for Acting at launch of 2016 Irish Film Festival London

TWO young Cork actors have got the ultimate movie industry seal of approval having picked up the inaugural Ros Hubbard Award for Acting.

Alex Murphy and Chris Walley, stars of Irish comedy film The Young Offenders, received the gong in London last night from the leading casting director herself at the launch of this year's Irish Film Festival London.

Dubliner Ros, along with husband John, are the founders of London-based Hubbard Casting - and together have worked on films including Evita, Angela’s Ashes, The Lord of the Rings, Bourne Identity and The Hobbit to name but a few.

The ceremony, held at the Irish Embassy, paid tribute to rising stars Murphy and Walley, who feature in home-grown movie The Young Offenders, which also picked up the Súil Eile Award.

Inspired by real events, it sees two teenage boys try to find a missing bale of cocaine after it is thrown overboard by a group of drug smugglers.

Festival Director Kelly O’Connor said: “Huge respect goes to our awardwinners, who have really stood out this year.

"We thought that after last year’s huge releases Room and Brooklyn, this year would be tough to programme. But our Irish filmmakers have not let us down.

She added: "I’d like to also take this opportunity to thank our awards sponsors, who have made all this possible."

Ardal O'Hanlon, who stars in Twice Shy, is pictured with Mark McNulty, Angela Sammon and Kelly O'Connor from the Irish Film Festival London

Irish Ambassador Dan Mulhall was on hand to launch this year's festival, which runs from November 23-25 and includes a line-up of Irish feature films, shorts and documentaries.

Features include the multi-award winning A Date for Mad Mary, the subtle and heartfelt Twice Shy, comedy The Young Offenders, the Christopher Lloyd-starring horror I Am Not a Serial Killer, Irish-American drama Emerald City, and the delightful Pat Shortt farce The Flag.

Linda Bhreatnach, writer and co-director of Adulting, is pictured with her award

Documentaries include Fís na Fuiseoige, a stunning visual exploration of the diversity of local places in Ireland, as seen from a bird’s-eye view, The Queen of Ireland, which traces Ireland’s journey towards marriage equality via the life of drag queen and national treasure Panti Bliss, and Born & Reared, a touching documentary on the effects of The Troubles on a diverse cross section of Northern Irish men.

Other highlights include a powerful Short Film Programmeas well as the Irish Film Board’s selection of shorts, After 16, which celebrates the centenary of the Easter Rising and an audience with Oscar-nominated Director Lenny Abrahamson, who is also a patron of the festival.

Irish Paralympic gold and silver medalist Katie-George Dunleavy is pictured left with actress Tara Lee and Marie Prins

Speaking at the launch, Ambassador Mulhall said: “It is a fine example of the diversity, charm and power of Irish film making."

The five-day festival, now in its sixth year, brings together industry professionals, film fans and fans of Irish arts and culture.

Focusing on Irish productions, scripts and casts, it provides a platform for Irish film in London, helping to promote Irish creative talent in Britain.

The festival, part-funded by the Emigrant Support Programme, Irish Film Board, the IFI, Film London and Culture Ireland, also runs events throughout the year.

These include the film section of the St. Patrick’s Day Festival with the GLA, children’s cinema programmes, networking as well as film industry talks and workshops.