Lisburn-born film editor Nick Emerson, who is Oscar-nominated this weekend for his work on the papal thriller Conclave, has described being part of the Academy Awards as "incredible".
Emerson is the favourite to win in his category on Sunday night at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles. He won the BAFTA for his work on Conclave earlier this month.
Ahead of the Oscars, Emerson was among the guests at the US-Ireland Alliance's Oscar Wilde Awards in the city on Thursday.
"It's a dream come true," he told RTÉ's Washington Correspondent Seán Whelan on the green carpet at the Ebell of Los Angeles.
"To be honoured in this way is so fabulous and just to be in amongst the other amazing film editing nominees, it's such a privilege.
Watch: Conclave stars Stanley Tucci, Ralph Fiennes, and Isabella Rossellini discuss the papal thriller with Laura Delaney.
"I'm so proud of the film, so I'm really happy to have that recognition for my work. It's incredible."
Conclave was released in Irish cinemas at the end of 2024, but Emerson said he began working on the film in January 2023.
"They were shooting in Rome and I was working away in London, and then we went into post-production," he recounted.
Reflecting on how his career had taken him to the Oscars, Emerson said: "I spent most of my young adult life in Belfast working there. I spent a lot of time working in news, in television news in the North in the lead-up to the Good Friday Agreement and afterwards as well - working for RTÉ and BBC and UTV.
"Then I ended up shifting into documentary film and then from then, I somehow managed to get in touch with some people who were making films. I feel very fortunate. It was a long journey but a really rewarding one."
"It's all about the work for me," he concluded. "I love the process. You always learn something in each and every single film that you work on, so it's always really exciting."
The 97th Academy Awards take place at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles on Sunday night and will be broadcast live on RTÉ One and RTÉ Player from midnight. They will also air on RTÉ2 and RTÉ Player on Monday from 9:30pm.
