From the streets of Dublin to the heights of Hollywood, the Irish creative wave is no longer just a trend; it’s a global takeover. And as we enter the 2026 awards season, the 98th Academy Awards spotlight is firmly fixed on a new era of storytelling where the gift of the gab meets cutting-edge visual literacy. In this exclusive interview, we speak to award-winning director Neasa Hardiman, whose accolades include a BAFTA for ITV hit Happy Valley, and most recently directed Netflix smash Untamed, starring Eric Bana. Here, Neasa discusses the Irish charm driving its cultural dominance of awards season, the rise of indie cinema against high-budget spectacles, and why the human flaw remains our greatest defence against the rise of Generative AI.
Eric Bana & Neasa Hardiman on set of Untamed (Ricardo Hubbs/Netflix © 2025)
As someone who has worked extensively in both Dublin and Hollywood, why do you think Irish stars and creators are maintaining such an outsized prominence on the global stage right now?
Let’s face it, the Irish are pretty charming. It’s not just a cliché. Culturally, Irish people tend to prioritise being friendly and extroverted. We tend to value telling a great yarn – there’s an old Irish aphorism: “Never let a fact spoil a good story”. We really value great music and musicians, we love writers, poets and playwrights. In fact, all creative artists are tax-exempt in Ireland; that’s how much we love them. Honestly, I think growing up in that culture makes us a really good fit for creative careers.
As we move into 2026, what is the one shift in the film industry you most hope to see by the end of the year?
I’d love to see indie cinema make a roaring comeback. I think it’s imminent…
You have been a vocal advocate for visual literacy; how do you hope the relationship between high-budget streaming spectacles and intimate indie cinema evolves this year?
Great screen storytelling can come from anywhere. Look at the Best Film Oscar nominees. So many of them are independent films intended for cinema release. That’s really heartening. Great stories don’t come from algorithmic calculation. They don’t come from predictive computing. Great stories come from lateral thinking, emotive grounding, individual obsession, visual invention, original performances, and rich and strange soundscapes. We need to protect and amplify the individual voices of filmmakers, to make sure we can all experience the rich and wild, strange and exciting films we yearn for.
Looking at the current landscape of the 98th Academy Awards, which films do you believe have truly redefined the cinematic form this year?
It’s great to see so many original and strange films in contention. Marty Supreme is the apogee of that Safdie restless energy and rollercoaster characterisation. Sentimental Value is so rich and resonant. Frankenstein is a proper Gesamtkunstwerk. Bugonia’s two central performances are spellbinding. But Hamnet. That wordless epiphany Jessie Buckley embodies at the story’s close. There’s nothing else like it. It’s pure cinema.
With Jessie Buckley and Paul Mescal leading the charge for Hamnet, what is your personal prediction for Ireland’s trophy haul at the Oscars this March?
I can’t see anyone taking that trophy from the peerless Jessie Buckley. I’d love to see Paul Mescal up on that podium, too. I hope Element Pictures wins something for Bugonia.
Beyond the Irish contingent, which London-based actors or filmmakers do you think are currently standing out in the 2026 awards race?
I’m thrilled to see Nina Gold nominated as a casting director. I’ve worked with Nina a number of times – she’s intelligent, thoughtful, and deeply committed to storytelling. She deserves all the Oscars. Delroy Lindo burned through the screen in Sinners. I’d love to see an Oscar in his hand.
Every awards season has its “dark horse”; is there a specific performance or indie film that you believe might deliver a major surprise win and disrupt the current frontrunners?
I’d love to see Autumn Durald Arkapaw win the cinematography award. I don’t think a woman of colour has ever been nominated in this category before. She’s supremely gifted and deserves an Oscar.
Dublin-based BAFTA and IFTA-winning director and writer Neasa Hardiman (Bryan O’Brien / The Irish Times)
Given your background in design and film theory, do you view the integration of Generative AI as a threat to the director’s eye or as an expansive new tool for world-building?
AI is a terrific tool. Once we have a design idea, AI can conjure it as a virtual film set. It can affect magical transformations, like fixing focus or translating language. AI can speed up research. Used well, it frees screen professionals to soar creatively. It may even allow wilder, stranger stories, sounds and images to find their way to the screen. But when it comes to origination, AI is the wrong tool. Our meandering, meaning-making minds make lateral leaps based on emotion and intuition. AI’s original creations are based on a logical recombination of established patterns. That’s another term for cliché.
In what ways do you think AI will become more widely used in screen storytelling to enhance, rather than replace, the human emotional connection?
When the fanfare dies down, we’ll understand AI as a wonderful new tool with limitations, like every tool. It offers speedy, cost-efficient engineering and software solutions. It offers new ways to produce thrilling spectacle, enhancing film and TV stories. But for those stories to have meaning, they have to originate in the emotive links made by real minds. For true emotional power – for the spellbinding meaning we crave – the random human links, trips and flaws are where the magic lives.
Beyond your current commissions, what other upcoming collaborations are you most excited to share with us for 2026?
I’m really excited by the project I’m preparing to shoot on right now. The lead cast are terrific, the story is electrifying and ambitious. Once that’s in the can, I’m set to adapt my favourite novel for the screen, working with a brilliant producer. Here’s to a year full of creative challenges!
