1.  Bleary-eyed, as he lit up a smoke in his hotel lobby the other morning, Irish director Alan Stanford looked very happy.

2.  A first-time Irish director.

3.  The Irish director Neil Jordan, who has a film in competition, received an award.

4.  Detractors accuse Irish director Neil Jordan of contriving to portray the British as brutal imperialists with no redeeming features in his film.