Lenny Abrahamson is a native of Dublin. He studied philosophy at Trinity, where he co-founded the Trinity Video Company with Ed Guiney, who has gone on to produce all of Abrahamson’s work. This entry into filmmaking led to his first short, 3 Joes, which won a number of awards at European festivals. After time spent undertaking post-graduate study and directing a number of commercials, Abrahamson returned to film with his first feature Adam and Paul in 2004, Garage in 2007, What Richard did in 2012, Frank in 2014, Academy Award nominated Room based on Emma Donoghue’s novel of the same name in 2015 and The little Stranger in 2018. Abrahamson films have won him a total of 6 IFTA’s and an Academy Award- Best Director nomination. Despite having a timeless quality derived from a style indebted to European directors such as Robert Bresson, the Dardenne Brothers and Bruno Dumont, his films remain distinctively Irish. This spare nature is brilliantly balanced to provide audiences with just enough information to draw their own conclusions. 

He is one of the directors and executive producers of the limited series Normal People, based on the novel of the same name by Sally Rooney. The series was released in 2020 and was nominated for four Emmy awards, including Outstanding Directing for Abrahamson. He also will direct and produce the forthcoming tv series Conversations with Friends, set to be released in May 2022 and based on Sally Rooney's debut novel. 

Photo credit: Shane O'Connor