Element Pictures film The Favourite nominated for 10 Oscars at the 91st Academy Awards including Dublin Animator Louise Bagnall the creator of animated short-film nominee 'Late Afternoon'

During the announcement, the early nominations for 'The Favourite' in the editing and costumes categories, as well as Dubliner Robbie Ryan's nomination for cinematography, raised their hopes for more.

Speaking to the Irish Independent from Los Angeles, he said he and fellow Element co-owner Andrew Lowe watched the announcement live while on the phone with the team back in Dublin.

Element Pictures co-founder Ed Guiney has revealed his surprise and excitement at the Irish-produced film 'The Favourite' being in the running for no fewer than 10 Oscars.

"It was 5am when we got up and Andrew and I were watching it and we were actually on FaceTime with the gang back in Dublin and they were all going mental, but we'll leave any lubrication until we get home," said Guiney, who will return to Dublin for celebrations tomorrow.

"When those early nominations came in you kind of go 'there's support for this film', and all of those people who vote for those nominations are behind it and there's a big body of support so you start to get a sense of 'we might be lucky here'," he said.

There was also good news for Dublin animator Louise Bagnall as the nominees for the 91st Academy Awards were announced.

The 33-year-old, who attended Alexandra College, Dublin, and went on to study animation in IADT, is the creator of animated short-film 'Late Afternoon' which got the nod for an Oscar.

Bagnall told the Irish Independent a nomination had never crossed her mind when she worked on the project initially.

She said she was just hoping someone might sit up and notice it. It was named alongside 'Animal Behaviour', 'One Small Step', 'Bao', and 'Weekends' for the best animated short film award.

She said she went to a local bar in Kilkenny, where she is based in Cartoon Saloon, with her producer Nuria Blanco to await the announcement.

"I wasn't feeling nervous, I was prepared for the worst," she said. "It's not something you think about when you're working on projects. This comes later on and you're just hoping people will notice it."

While she was shortlisted in December, she hasn't looked into the finer details of the ceremony on February 24 in LA.

"I didn't look at the details - it felt like you were going to jinx yourself. I suppose we will have to find something nice to wear, but for now I am just going to celebrate."

However, she isn't counting her chickens, saying she is up against some stiff competition.

"The competition is very strong, I think it's fascinating too how they're all different. There is no knowing what will hit the right mark," she said.

There was no such luck for Saoirse Ronan, who was snubbed for her role in 'Mary Queen of Scots'.

Another Irish nomination was 'Detainment', a short film by Vincent Lambe. Based on the Jamie Bulger case, the nomination was met with "disgust" from Denise Fergus, the mother of the murdered child.