Synopsis:

Abbadon. Lucifer. Beelzebub. Satan. Old Nick. Antichrist. Mammon. Old Scratch. Evil One. The Devil. He is known by many names across the world and across the centuries. You may have your own name for him. You may imagine his form, his shape, his voice, his presence. You may have seen his portrait in artwork, in paintings, in film. You’ve doubtless heard stories of his power. You may have seen his shadow in dark news reports. You may tell yourself he is a cautionary tale, a childish fable; that you have nothing to fear.

The central question this film sets out to interrogate is one that has been argued by the finest minds in philosophy and theology, by the illiterate, by rich, by poor, old, young, since time immemorial.  The film examines this question through the life of one man, Malachi Martin; an Irish priest who dedicated his life to battling an ancient evil. Malachi Martin; exorcist. Using first-hand interviews, dramatic reconstruction, archival evidence and Martin’s own words, this documentary will follow Father Martin’s incredible crusade from the 1970s through to his death in 1999.

So. Does the Devil exist?

Glasnevin Cemetery is the final resting place of 1.5 million souls; it is Ireland’s national necropolis. ONE MILLION DUBLINERS reveals the often unspoken stories of ritual, loss, love, redemption, emotion, history – and the business of death.

But this is really a film about life: the Saint Valentine’s Day rush in the florists; the American visitors eagerly searching for Irish ancestors; lost and longed for love; discovery and bereavement; earthy gravediggers and musicians in celebration.  Above all, it’s the story of an immensely engaging Tour Guide shepherding his charges – and us – through the headstones and monuments, through opinions and beliefs.  Filled with the familiar and the fascinating, this is a documentary that offers a glimpse into the unknown, into a world we will all come to share.

Often humorous, always affecting, ONE MILLION DUBLINERS explores life, death and the afterlife, and ends in a way that will stay with you forever.  Even in a cemetery you never quite get used to death.

AVAILABLE TO BUY

On sale in all good DVD stores and digitally on Volta.ie (Ireland only)

A compelling documentary film four years in the making, The Pipe tells the story of the small Rossport community which has taken on the might of Shell Oil and the Irish State.

The discovery of gas off this remote coastal village has led to the most dramatic clash of cultures in modern Ireland.  The rights of farmers over their fields, and of fishermen to their fishing grounds, has come in direct conflict with one of the world’s most powerful oil companies. When the citizens look to their State to protect their rights, they find that the government has put Shell’s right to lay a pipeline over their own.

Already 5 locals have spent 94 days in jail rather than let the proposed Shell pipeline cross their lands.  This once tranquil area is engulfed in turmoil, as huge numbers of police drafted in.  Normal policing has broken down following baton charges, surveillance, arrests, and a hunger strike by a local schoolteacher.

With the imminent arrival of the world’s largest pipelaying vessel, the Solitaire, a massive security operation is put into action by the State to ensure that the pipe is laid without interference.  When all hope seems lost, events take a dramatic turn…

Following the personal experience of three main characters at the height of local tension, The Pipe is a story of a community tragically divided, and the prospect of a pipeline that can bring economic prosperity or destroy of a way of life shared for generations.

What if it made perfect sense for ordinary people to kill each other for money? Better than slow grinding financial ruin and misery, and all done according to a strict code by consenting adults. This is Trading.

In this fast-paced and twisty thriller, newly unemployed Vernon (John Bradley, Game of Thrones) refuses to toil away in an average job in a crumbling economy and instead masterminds a diabolical, all-or-nothing plan… Trading. In Trading, Vernon brings together two anonymous and equally desperate individuals to liquidate their assets, bring the cash to a remote location – and fight to the death. The winner walks away with everything.  When Trading becomes an alarmingly popular underground phenomenon, Vernon becomes a participant in the very game that he created.

An apparition of the Virgin Mary. A multi-million euro restoration project. A plane full of American pilgrims en route. Thousands of faithful seeking a miracle. Strange Occurrences in a small Irish village explores the big question of faith, in a small Irish village.

One dark evening in 1879 in the town of Knock, Ireland, fifteen villagers claim to witness a vision of the Virgin Mary. After two official inquiries, the village was declared a Marian Shrine. Today, Knock’s 2,000 residents welcome over one million pilgrims annually.

In the village, we meet people with compelling stories – invalids seeking cures; the eight sibling owners of rival religious merchandise shops; a woman relieved of multiple sclerosis during a 1970s pilgrimage; feisty Mildred, advocate for gender parity for the shrine’s handmaids; and the staff of the Knock Marriage Bureau, the matchmakers behind one thousand marriages and counting.

Father Richard has a vision of his own – to bring Knock into the twenty-first century. The charismatic, outward-looking Parish Priest is on a mission to entice new transatlantic visitors via Knock Airport.

With references to “the scandals”, falling church attendances, and the modernisation of the shrine and the village itself, Strange Occurrences in a small Irish village presents a timely reflection on the position of the Church in modern Ireland. For the faithful it celebrates a beacon of spiritual hope; for sceptics it opens an enticing window on an anachronistic but thriving world.

An UNDERGROUND FILMS production in association with RTÉ and the BROADCASTING AUTHORITY OF IRELAND in association with SHOOT FOR THE MOON and in association with BORD SCANNÁN NA HÉIREANN / THE IRISH FILM BOARD