Pierce Brosnan (The Matador), Colin Farrell (Miami Vice), Cillian Murphy (Breakfast On Pluto, and The Wind That Shakes The Barley), and Neil Jordan (Breakfast On Pluto) are a few of the internationally recognised members of the Irish film-making community among the nominees for this year's Irish Film and Television Awards (Iftas).

Other internationally renowned Irish names nominated include DOP Seamus McGarvey (World Trade Center) and costume designers Joan Bergin (The Prestige) and Consolata Boyle (The Queen).

Breakfast On Pluto leads this year's film contenders with a total of 10 nominations, followed closely by Brian Kirk's Middletown with nine, while Ken Loach's The Wind That Shakes The Barley and John Boorman's The Tiger's Tail have seven nominations each.

Breakfast On Pluto, The Wind That Shakes The Barley and Middletown are best film contenders alongside Niall Heery's as-yet unreleased Small Engine Repair and David Gleeson's The Front Line.

Debut feature director Brian Kirk describes what the nominations mean for him: "Making your first feature film is an intense and unique experience and to have Middletown so widely recognised by the Iftas is no small thing. It is great to be individually nominated but the fact that my co-collaborators - especially Michael Casey and Daragh Carville - have also been nominated, means I can enjoy it even more."

The Iftas are now in their fifth year, the first with a reconstituted Irish Film & Television Academy behind them. Aine Moriarty, CEO of Ifta, says: "Establishing the academy with peer voting and repositioning the Ifta Awards brings Ireland in line with other international academies. The Academy will raise the profile of Irish talent and production by actively promoting Irish excellence, ensuring that achievements are recognized and respected throughout the world."

The awards show will be broadcast on February 10, on RTE 1, in the Republic of Ireland. There will also be a Northern Ireland broadcast of the awards ceremony highlights.