Irish actress Ruth Negga is among the nominees for the Gotham film awards in the US for her performance in the Oscar-tipped true story Loving.
The announcement of the Gotham nominees signals the 'unofficial start' of awards season in the US, with Negga a certainty to feature prominently in the months to come.
She is shortlisted for Best Actress at November's Gotham Awards alongside Kate Beckinsale (for Love & Friendship, which was filmed in Ireland), Annette Bening (20th Century Women), Isabelle Huppert (Elle) and Natalie Portman (Jackie).
Negga's Loving co-star Joel Edgerton is among the Best Actor nominees with Casey Affleck (Manchester by the Sea), Jeff Bridges (Hell or High Water), Adam Driver (Paterson) and Craig Robinson (Morris from America) completing the shortlist.
Written and directed by Mud and Midnight Special director Jeff Nichols, Loving tells the true story of an illegal inter-racial marriage in the US state of Virginia in the 1950s.
Richard Loving (Edgerton) and Mildred Jeter (Negga) eloped to Washington DC in 1958 but on their return home to Virginia they were arrested. They were sentenced to a year in prison, suspended for 25 years, on condition that they left Virginia. Their case eventually reached the US Supreme Court, which in 1967 overturned the Lovings' convictions and ruled that state laws against interracial marriage were unconstitutional.
The film received its world premiere at the Cannes Film Festival in May, with critics hailing Negga's performance as a shoo-in for the upcoming Golden Globe and Oscar nominations.
Negga has said she drew on her deep connection to Ireland to identify with her character in her Loving.
The star, who was born in Ethiopia and raised in Limerick, told Vogue in a recent interview: "Virginia isn't that different from Ireland. Land and home and community are super important. When I was playing her, I tried to imagine I couldn't go home again because of whom I married. It must have drained the lifeblood from her."
The former Love/Hate star went on to discuss her first encounter with racism, saying she didn't experience it until she moved to London.
"When I was a kid in Ireland, there were not very many black people. I was very much like the strange brown thing, intriguing and cute," she said. "I didn't experience racism there. The first time I did was in London. It was that moment that you realise you're black. A kind of lifting of the veil."
Negga was the first person director Nichols auditioned for the role and he revealed that he thought she was too petite when he first met her, but her acting abilities soon changed his mind.
"She spoke in Mildred's voice. She held her mouth like Mildred," he said. "I wasn't looking for star power. I was looking for great actors."
The winners of the Gotham Awards will be announced in New York on November 28. Loving will be released in the US on November 4 - a key slot during awards season - with its Irish release to follow on February 3, 2017.
The Golden Globe nominees will be announced on December 12 with the awards taking place on January 8. The Oscar nominees will be announced on January 24 with the Academy Awards taking place on February 26.
