The Irish-made films Brooklyn and Room have continued their awards success in the US with honours for their respective stars, Saoirse Ronan and Brie Larson.
The Santa Barbara Film Festival in California has announced that Ronan and Larson will be co-recipients of its 2016 Outstanding Performer of the Year award - the first time in the festival's history the honour has been shared.
Previous winners include Cate Blanchett, Steve Carell, Colin Firth, Angelina Jolie, Jennifer Lawrence, Helen Mirren and Kate Winslet.
The award will be presented on February 8 at the Arlington Theater in Santa Barbara.
Larson has also been named Best Actress by the National Board of Review in the US for her performance in Room, while her co-star, Jacob Tremblay, shared the Breakthrough Performance award with Beasts of No Nation's Abraham Attah.
Due for release in Ireland on January 15, the Lenny Abrahamson-directed Room is adapted from Emma Donoghue's award-winning book of the same name. It tells the story of a five-year-old boy (Tremblay) growing up with his mother (Larson) in a shed which he believes is the whole world, while she hides from him the fact that they are captives.
The John Crowley-directed Brooklyn is currently on release in Irish cinemas. Adapted from the Colm Tóibín bestseller of the same name, it tells the story of Eilis Lacey (Ronan), who leaves 1950s Ireland for New York. There she falls in love but later has to choose between her life in the US and her life back home.
Brooklyn has previously won People's Choice and Audience awards at the Vancouver, Virginia and Mill Valley film festivals. Ronan won the New Hollywood award earlier this month at the Hollywood Film Awards, while her co-star, Emory Cohen, was honoured with the Breakthrough Performer award at the Hamptons International Film Festival.
Room won the coveted People's Choice Award at the Toronto International Film Festival in September. The award is often an indication of things to come during Oscar season.
The makers of Brooklyn and Room will now be looking to Sunday night's British Independent Film Awards and next week's Golden Globe nominations. The Golden Globes shortlist will be revealed on Thursday December 10.
