Kíla has won the ‘Original Music’ award for its work on the film Arracht at the 2020 Irish Film and Television Awards (IFTAs).

It was one of two awards for the film. Brendan Rehill, Alan Scully and Peter Blayney also won the sound award.

The atmospheric soundtrack from the Irish music group resonated with the dark theme of the film. Kíla have previously worked on the soundtracks for Oscar-nominated animations The Secret of Kells and Song of the Sea and were nominated for an Emmy in 2015 for their soundtrack to the film Ireland’s Wild River.

Onóir mór dúinn é, ( big honour ) to recieve an @IFTA award for the soundtrack to ‘Arracht’ : A film ‘as gaeilge’ , about the Famine . It meant a lot to be given the chance to enhance @tomsullivanfilm’s movie and it means a lot to have that work recognised . #ifta @MacallaTeo pic.twitter.com/SJF568sAC6

— Kíla (@KilaRecords) October 18, 2020

Directed by Tom Sullivan, Arracht tells the story of Colmán Sharkey (Dónal Ó hÉalaí), a fisherman, father and husband living in Conamara in 1845 as the Great Famine descends. After he and a new arrival in the village, Patsy (Dara Devaney), confront his landlord about rent increases, the night ends in violence and he is forced to go into hiding. As the years pass in solitude, he encounters a young girl, Kitty (Saise Ní Chuinn), and a life-saving friendship develops.

Premiered at the Black Nights Festival in Estonia last November, Arracht has already won the Audience Award at the Glasgow Film Festival, Best Irish Film at the Virgin Media Dublin International Film Festival, the Golden Tree Award/Best Film at the Kimolos International Film Festival in Greece, and Critics’ Choice Award at the British & Irish Film Festival in Luxembourg, plus five awards from the American Golden Picture International Film Festival.

Arracht was the closing film at the 2020 Galway Film Fleadh and this week had its American premiere at the San Diego International Film Festival. 

For updates on its general release, follow https://twitter.com/arrachtfilm.