OCTOBER 2002
www.celtic-connection.com
Page 15
BLOODY SUNDAY FILM OPENS IN VANCOUVER
VANCOUVER - The acclaimed film Bloody Sunday opened in Vancouver at a special premiere showing on September 29 as part of the Vancouver International Film Festival.
After the screening, The Celtic Connection spoke to a number of people who attended the opening and asked for their comments on the film.
SEAN HEATHER: (owner of The Irish Heather Gastropub & Irish House in Gastown)
(Sponsor of the movie Bloody Sunday in Vancouver)
"Bloody Sunday was a story that needed to be told and when I was approached by the Film Festival to sponsor the movie, I was delighted to be able to assist in bringing this movie to the Vancouver public.
I think the movie opened a lot of eyes for people who didn't know anything about the situation in Northern Ireland."
MICK HURLEY: (Derry)
"I was a 14-year old student when Bloody Sunday took place and the film seems to reflect everything that I can remember about it... probably one of the greatest tragedies in the present-day troubles of Northern Ireland.
"I can remember the panic and everything that went with the scenes around that time and I know that there can be no doubt that the people involved were innocent. I think that will be borne out by the present-day inquiry. "Ivan Cooper and Bernadette Devlin both played a huge role in the civil rights movement of the day. James Nesbitt, the actor playing Ivan Cooper in the movie said at the end of the movie that 'Bloody Sunday was the end of the civil rights movement', and unfortunately it was. After that day, we moved towards a more violent Northern Ireland'.
^355 JAMES CARBIN | (Monaghan):
"The world will see as a result of the viewing of the movie Bloody Sunday that democracy was made a mockery of by the killing of 13 innocent people by the British army on Sundav, January 30, 1972.
During the peaceful march on that fateful day in Derry, Northern Ireland, General Robert Ford, the commander of land forces at that time did nothing to call off his thugs. They were using AK 47's or similar guns to target innocent people, who did not have a chance of escape, which led to the murder of the 13 victims.
"After 30 years, this atrocity is still being investigated as per the. Saville Inquiry. General Frank Kitson was the commander of the Thirty-Ninth Brigade which included the First Battalion of the parachute regiment (also known as Kitson's private army). They were shooting to kill unarmed peaceful marchers in Derry on Bloody Sunday, from the top of a 13-foot wall.
"The General spent four hours giving evidence to the London inquiry regarding the events of that day. He defended the men of his regiment, denying they were "thugs in uniform" as other army officers have described them.
He insisted that the men had a fearsome reputation for efficiency and effectiveness in carrying out the operations of which Derry is an example. We ask, 'can this man be trusted to tell the truth at the London Inquiry'?
"British Prime Minister, Tony Blair has to assure the people of Derry that the truth will be forthcoming at the inquiry headed by Lord Saville. For these reasons, I believe that the film Bloody Sunday will be a tremendous help towards the truth being revealed."
MALACHY MAHON, (Of-faly)
"The movie appeared very real and seemed as if it was direct footage from that fateful day in 1972. It shows how much the British government was out of touch with its citizens in Northern Ireland and the real problems such as civil rights, poverty and the lack of a non-biased police force.
It shows an army that was unprofessional, untrained and willing to lie to cover up and support the British propaganda machinery in that province. It is a shame that it took 30 years to come out."
TOM O'SULLIVAN: (Kerry)
"Very, very powerful movie. Very moving and quite at times shocking. I was only 10 when the civil rights march took place in Northern Ireland and I remember the horror and disgust that everyone felt in my community when this story hit the news. The movie captured that sentiment and brought to light a horrible episode of Irish history. It was a very, verj' well made movie and revealed a very sad chapter of Irish history."
BRENDAN FLYNN: (Wick-low)
"In a nutshell, Bloody Sunday and the eventful day depicted in the movie demonstrates man's inhumanity to man so vividly. The people in the North of Ireland, roughly one quarter of the population of Ireland at the time were subjected to so many injustices and discriminations by their neighbours because of their religion, heritage or politics. We can only thank the producers for completing such a descriptive rendition of a terrible day in Irish history and perhaps by its creation, the perpetrators of that ugly daj' will be brought to justice, no matter who thev are."
JOHNNY DOCHERTY:
"It was a very humbling movie. As an Irish-Canadian, it revealed to me an insight that we were never exposed to. It was a truly moving experience and the U2 song Sunday. Bloody Sunday...the words mean so much more now when associated with the movie Bloody Sunday. It's a movie that I will not forget for a long time."
KATHLEEN ETHIER: (Dungannon)
"The people I spoke to who were on the march that day said it was a nice inarch and people were all nice and friendly, having a good time singing and walking along. They didn't even know what had happened up ahead until it was over. But yes, I think the movie Bloody Sunday was fairly close to what had actually happened."
French Award for Bloody Sunday
The Paul Greengrass film Bloody Sunday has won awards around the world. In October, the movie once again won top honours at a French festival dedicated to the best in British movie-making.
Bloody Sunday, about the killing of 13 civilians on the streets of Deny by the British army in 1972, won the Hitchcock d'Or best film prize at the Dinard British Film Festival. Alfred Hitchcock once lived in the Brittany town where the festival is held.
The film, starring James Nesbitt, has been criticized for its stance on the Derry killings, and for the fact it received British National Lottery funds and has been distributed by the British Film Council. But it has received worldwide acclaim, winning the Golden Bear in Berlin and the audience award at the Sundance Film Festival in the United States.
Ted Heath to Give evidence
LONDON - The Saville Inquiry has moved from Derry to London in order to facilitate some 250 British soldiers and others who claim to be afraid of the possible consequences of a trip to Northern Ireland if they give evidence at the inquiry.
Former British prime minister Sir Edward Heath has been called to give evidence at the inquiry into the events of Bloody Sunday. Tribunal chairman Lord Saville has ruled that Sir Edward, along with former foreign secretary Lord Carrington and former parliamentary undersecretary Sir Geoffrey Johnson, may give their evidence in London.
Lawyers for the three men told the inquiry that their clients had genuine fears about travelling to Derry to deliver their evidence. They also pointed out that security agencies believed the risk to Sir Edward was greater in Derry than in London.
In his submitted statement to the inquiry, Sir Edward denied that he gave Lord Widgery a "steer" when asking him to conduct the 1972 tribunal. He also noted, "I recall that Lord Widgery took the view that it was highly desirable to avoid an inquiry that would take years."
Sir Edward admitted that he warned Lord Widgery that the British government was engaged in a propaganda war, because of the media attention his inquiry would attract. He said that no political authority was sought for the use of firearms on Bloody Sunday and that it would have been understood that firearms would be used only if completely necessary.
Cost of Inquiry to Exceed £120 Million
DERRY - The cost of the Saville Inquiry into the Bloody Sunday killings is expected to exceed all estimates. The British government has already revised an earlier estimate at the end of last jTear that it could reach £100 million.
Up until March of this year, the Northern Ireland Office had spent £56.8 million on the inquiry into the fatal shootings of 14 people in Derry in 1972.
But junior Northern Ireland minister Des Browne, in a written reply to the Commons, said an estimated extra £15 million will go to transferring the inquiry hearings to London but that figure is now expected to be even higher. In excess of £5 million is expected to go towards paying legal fees for families of those killed.
The figures do not include costs to other government departments, including the defence ministry.
tWINNER i BEST PICTURE*" WINNER i BEST PICTURED
BERLIN FILM FESTIVAL SUNDANCE FILM FESTIVAL
"A TRIUMPH!
Look for BLOODY SUNDAY to take on the giants in the race for BEST PICTURE! James Nesbitt may be the ACTOR OF THE YEAR!"
Peter Travers, ROLLING STONE