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Jim Sheridan, often described as the voice of Ireland in European cinema, will be honoured with the Giraldillo de Honor at this year’s Seville European Film Festival. The Dublin-born director and screenwriter joins a distinguished list of awardees recognised for shaping the continent’s film culture.

 

The festival, now in its 22nd year, announced that Sheridan will be presented with the final Giraldillo of Honour for 2025, acknowledging his remarkable career spanning more than four decades. Known for his emotionally charged storytelling and ability to capture the human condition, Sheridan has built an enduring legacy through films that explore Ireland’s social, political, and family life.

 

Audiences first came to know him through My Left Foot (1989), the inspiring story that earned him an Academy Award and helped launch Daniel Day-Lewis into global stardom. The two collaborated again on In the Name of the Father (1993) and The Boxer (1997), cementing one of cinema’s most successful director–actor partnerships. Sheridan’s later works, such as In America (2002), continued to display his trademark blend of heart, honesty, and humanity.

 

Sheridan has also directed several major international productions, showing his versatility beyond Irish storytelling. His film Behind the Walls (2011), starring Daniel Craig and Naomi Watts, explored psychological tension within a haunted setting, while Brothers (2009) featured Tobey Maguire, Jake Gyllenhaal and Natalie Portman in a gripping family drama. He also directed Get Rich or Die Tryin’, featuring the musician 50 Cent, proving his ability to work across genres and audiences.

 

Beyond his directing achievements, Sheridan has also been deeply involved in nurturing Irish arts and culture. He co-founded Dublin’s Project Theatre alongside filmmaker Neil Jordan and served as director of the Irish Arts Center in New York. Over the years he has produced and supported emerging Irish talents including Terry George, John Carney, and Paul Greengrass, and has written screenplays such as Into the West (1992).

 

Festivalgoers in Seville will also have a chance to see Sheridan’s latest work, Re-creation, which he co-wrote and co-directed with David Merriman. The film offers a fresh take on one of Ireland’s most controversial real-life cases, revisited in a gripping courtroom format reminiscent of Sidney Lumet’s Twelve Angry Men (1957).

 

The Giraldillo de Honor will be presented during one of the festival’s main galas, marking a fitting tribute to a filmmaker who has long been a defining voice in both Irish and European cinema.

 

 

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