The Real Derry: Jamie-Lee O'Donnell (2022)

The Bloody Border

The painful story of Ireland and the Irish people, who struggled for centuries to free themselves from the tyrannical clutches of the British Empire; an epic tale of poverty, hunger, despair, violence and unyielding courage.

Unquiet Graves

This feature-length documentary investigates the role the British government played in the murder of over 120 civilians in Counties Armagh and Tyrone from July 1972 to 1978.

The Secret Peacemaker

The story of Father Alec Reid’s complex and controversial peace plan to bring an end to violence in Northern Ireland, which eventually led to the historic Good Friday Agreement.

Shooting the Darkness

The testimony of the men who unwittingly became war photographers on the streets of their own towns in Northern Ireland, when violence erupted around them. Instead of photographing weddings and celebrities, as they expected, they produced the images that crudely show the suffering of ordinary people between 1968 and 1998, the worst years of the conflict.

I Am Belfast

Belfast, it's a city that is changing, changing because the people are leaving? But one came back, a 10,000 year old woman who claims that she is the city itself.

Let Us Be Seen

How do feminist and queer identities operate in contemporary Belfast? Let Us Be Seen is a documentary film that presents the work and ideas of individuals on the ground in Belfast, who have campaigned tirelessly for change and continue to do so. On 21st October 2019, abortion was decriminalised and same-sex marriage legalised in Northern Ireland. This important law change however has shed light on more nuanced barriers facing people locally.

Lyra

An emotive, intimate film on the life and death of acclaimed young Northern Irish journalist Lyra McKee, whose murder by the New IRA in April 2019 sent shockwaves across the world. Directed by her close friend Alison Millar, the film seeks answers to her senseless killing through Lyra’s own work and words.

No Stone Unturned

Ireland's victory over Italy at the World Cup in New Jersey in 1994, remains a source of Irish pride. But it is haunted by memories of a massacre: terrorists opened fire and killed six innocents while they watched the match in a small village pub in Northern Ireland. Remarkably, no one was ever charged for the crime. For more than twenty years the victims' families have searched for answers. Now, at last, they may have found them. But what they learn turns a murder mystery into bigger inquiry relevant for us all: what happens when governments cover up the truth?

The Bannfoot Ferry

A forgotten history of Northern Ireland is unveiled through a journey into Ulster Television’s archives, and the rediscovery of the first locally-produced network drama, Boatman Do Not Tarry.

Battle of the Bogside

Feature documentary on the 3-days of riots in Derry, Northern Ireland that led to the deployment of British Troops into Derry in August 1969.

Bobby Sands: 66 Days

By the early 1980s, after two decades of violence and unrest, the situation in Northern Ireland took a sudden and profound turn inside the infamous Maze Prison. Seeking the right to be treated as political prisoners rather than common criminals, Irish Republicans led by Bobby Sands began a prison hunger strike that would draw international attention to the conflict. In the 66 days that he refused food, Sands would be elected to the British Parliament, put the Irish Republican struggle centre stage on the world news agenda, and pay the ultimate price for his political convictions. The film combines a powerful mosaic of archival materials, reconstructions and the illuminating accounts of former prisoners, commentators and key players in the drama. With Sands's evocative prison diary at its core, the film brings fresh insight to an iconic figure who single-handedly created a transformative moment in Ireland's history that had global aftershocks.

Young Plato

Mr. McArevey is a visionary headmaster at a Catholic primary school in one of the toughest neighborhoods of Belfast, Northern Ireland. He loves Elvis and teaches his students to connect with their feelings, while taking on the legacies of the “The Troubles.” In this exceptional portrait of a community still healing from trauma, we follow this educator extraordinaire as he uses Ancient Greek wisdom as an antidote for pessimism, violence, and historical despair.

Troubled

While the overt violence and conflict associated with the Troubles may have subsided since the Good Friday Agreement, it is true that many people in Northern Ireland continue to be affected by the legacy of the conflict. This includes individuals who were directly impacted by the violence, as well as those who continue to struggle with the social, economic, and political consequences of the conflict. While the actual violence and conflict may have ended, the legacy of the Troubles still lingers on in Northern Ireland; many are still struggling to come to terms with what happened and find a way to move forward.

The Crying Game

Irish Republican Army member Fergus forms an unexpected bond with Jody, a kidnapped British soldier in his custody, despite the warnings of fellow IRA members Jude and Maguire. Jody makes Fergus promise he'll visit his girlfriend, Dil, in London, and when Fergus flees to the city, he seeks her out. Hounded by his former IRA colleagues, he finds himself increasingly drawn to the enigmatic, and surprising, Dil.

Hunger

The story of Bobby Sands, the IRA member who led the 1981 hunger strike during The Troubles in which Irish Republican prisoners tried to win political status.

'71

A young British soldier must find his way back to safety after his unit accidentally abandons him during a riot in the streets of Belfast.

Hellboy II: The Golden Army

Hellboy, his pyrokinetic girlfriend, Liz, and aquatic empath, Abe Sapien, face their biggest battle when an underworld elven prince plans to reclaim Earth for his magical kindred. Tired of living in the shadow of humans, Prince Nuada tries to awaken an ancient force of killing machines, the all-powerful Golden Army, to clear the way for fantasy creatures to roam free. Only Hellboy can stop the dark prince and prevent humanity's annihilation.

Nowhere Special

John, a 35-year-old window cleaner, has dedicated his life to bringing up his 4-year-old son, Michael, after the child's mother left them soon after giving birth. When John is given only a few months left to live, he attempts to find a new, perfect family for Michael, determined to shield him from the terrible reality of the situation.

Bloody Sunday

The dramatised story of the Irish civil rights protest march on January 30 1972 which ended in a massacre by British troops.

The Journey

Firebrand Democratic Unionist Party leader Ian Paisley and Sinn Fein politician Martin McGuinness, two implacable enemies in Northern Ireland, are forced to take a short journey together in which they will take the biggest leap of faith and change the course of history.

Omagh

The movie starts at the 1998 bomb attack by the Real IRA at Omagh, Northern Ireland. The attack killed 31 people. Michael Gallagher one of the relatives of the victims starts an examination to bring the people responsible to court.

The Devil's Own

Frankie McGuire, one of the IRA's deadliest assassins, draws an American family into the crossfire of terrorism. But when he is sent to the U.S. to buy weapons, Frankie is housed with the family of Tom O'Meara, a New York cop who knows nothing about Frankie's real identity. Their surprising friendship, and Tom's growing suspicions, forces Frankie to choose between the promise of peace or a lifetime of murder.

You Are Here

Two brothers plan to spend quality time together on a weekend hike, but when things go wrong they are forced to confront a rift in their relationship.

Three Wishes

Three teenagers, wandering the streets of Belfast at night, ask themselves what they would do if they had three magic wishes.

The Craic

When Fergus and Wesley get in the bad books of a local rough in their home town in Northern Ireland they decide to flee to Australia. After making a new life for themselves in Sydney they soon outstay their visas and must go on the run again, this time from the immigration officials.

Reavey Brothers

In a trouble-ridden Northern Ireland, football and writing prospect Anthony's relationship with his brothers comes under danger. Exploring religious divides and the importance of family, Anthony will come face-to-face with the one thing he is trying to fight.

In the Name of the Father

A small time thief from Belfast, Gerry Conlon, is falsely implicated in the IRA bombing of a pub that kills several people while he is in London. He and his four friends are coerced by British police into confessing their guilt. Gerry's father and other relatives in London are also implicated in the crime. He spends fifteen years in prison with his father trying to prove his innocence.

Patriot Games

When CIA Analyst Jack Ryan interferes with an IRA assassination, a renegade faction targets Jack and his family as revenge.

The Attendant

Frankie is a car park attendant at the spectacular Giant’s Causeway in Co. Antrim. His friend Cathy and her husband Paul are in trouble. Nevertheless as Frankie always says, "Something will turn up!"

Counsel

An alpha female barrister complicates her professional and personal life when she falls for a client.

Peacefire

In Northern Ireland during the Peace Process Colin is a joyriding hood who couldn't give a toss about the political situation, but a chance encounter with a ruthless detective turns him into an informer for the so-called forces of law and order and a target for retribution for his father's old mates in the IRA.

Hidden Agenda

In Ireland, American lawyer Ingrid Jessner and her activist partner, Paul Sullivan, struggle to uncover atrocities committed by the British government against the Northern Irish during the "Troubles." But when Sullivan is assassinated in the streets, Jessner teams up with Peter Kerrigan, a British investigator acting against the will of his own government, and struggles to uncover a conspiracy that may even implicate one of Kerrigan's colleagues.

Five Minutes of Heaven

The story of former UVF member Alistair Little. Twenty-five years after Little killed Joe Griffen's brother, the media arrange an auspicious meeting between the two.

Boogaloo and Graham

In 1970's Belfast two young boys discover the facts of life aided by the help of their pet chickens.

Mickybo and Me

The film tells the story of two boys who become friends at the start of the Troubles in 1970. The boys share an obsession with Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, with the consequence that they run away to Australia.

Elephant

This short film, first broadcast on BBC TWO in 1989, is a chilling depiction of a series of violent killings during the Troubles in Northern Ireland.

A Particular Friend

When Father Matthew discovers an intimacy between two of the other priests at a remote conversion-therapy centre in Northern Ireland, his attempt to do the right thing leads to a crisis of faith and feeling.

Cyprus Avenue

David Ireland's award-winning dark comedy about sectarian hatred in Northern Ireland. Eric Miller, a Belfast loyalist, mistakes his five-week-old granddaughter for Gerry Adams.

Maze

Inspired by the true events of the infamous 1983 prison breakout of 38 IRA prisoners from HMP Maze, which was to become the biggest prison escape in Europe since World War II.

Zoo

Young Tom and his misfit friends fight to save 'Buster' the baby elephant during the German air raid bombings of Belfast in 1941.

Oh, Mr. Porter!

Comedy in which a bungling railway worker is given the job of stationmaster at a rundown station in rural Ireland, where his sidekicks are a toothless old gaffer and a portly young loudmouth. Hilarious adventures ensue, including a locomotive chase after gunrunners make off with a train.

Shadow Dancer

In 1990s Belfast, a woman is forced to betray all she believes in for the sake of her son.

The Writing on the Wall

A youth workshop in Derry is mounting various projects, including a dramatized enquiry into the death of a soldier. But when a squaddie is shot on the doorstep, then real life intrudes in the shape of the police and security forces.

It Is in Us All

A Londoner returns to his ancestral homeland of Donegal in the west of Ireland and is drawn in by a teenage boy who almost kills him in a car crash.

The Northman

Prince Amleth is on the verge of becoming a man when his father is brutally murdered by his uncle, who kidnaps the boy's mother. Two decades later, Amleth is now a Viking who's on a mission to save his mother, kill his uncle and avenge his father.

Leprechaun: Origins

Two young couples backpacking through Ireland discover that one of Ireland's most famous legends is a terrifying reality.

The Truth Commissioner

Set in a post-Troubles Northern Ireland, The Truth Commissioner follows the fictional story of Henry Stanfield, played by Roger Allam, a career diplomat who has just been appointed as Truth Commissioner to Northern Ireland. Eager to make good as a peacemaker, the Prime Minister urges a commission following the South African model of Truth and Reconciliation. But, though Stanfield starts bravely, he quickly uncovers some bloody and inconvenient truths about those now running the country; truths which none of those in power are prepared to have revealed.

Jump

The lives of four twenty-somethings collide one fateful New Year's Eve in this twisty, blackly comic crime thriller set amidst the ancient walls of Derry, Northern Ireland, in a night of fast talk, accidents and intrigue. Johnny, a small-time crook, and Marie, a dissatisfied shop assistant, are both looking for a fresh start. Greta is on the verge of taking her own life and Pearse has a bounty on his head for asking difficult questions about his missing brother Eddie Kelly. As the clock ticks down to midnight and the night's events expertly fall into place, Jump weaves an existential portrait of the characters' lives as their hopes, fears and secrets are revealed

Kneecap

When fate brings Belfast teacher JJ into the orbit of self-confessed 'low life scum' Naoise and Liam Og, the needle drops on a hip hop act like no other. Rapping in their native Irish, they lead a movement to save their mother tongue.