The Patriot Game

Mairéad Farrell: An Unfinished Conversation

2014

Mairéad Farrell was shot dead by the SAS in Gibraltar in 1988 along with two other unarmed members of the IRA in one of the most controversial incidents arising from the Troubles in Northern Ireland. She had just been released from prison the year before after serving ten years for causing an explosion at an hotel near Belfast. The killing of the three provoked an international outcry and eventual enquiry. Due to her youth, her gender and her stature within the IRA, Mairéad Farrell was, unsurprisingly, quickly subsumed into the pantheon of Irish republican martyrs. But behind the mythologizing and demonisation of the time, there was also a real person, a flesh and blood young woman who was prepared to kill and die for her beliefs.

Whatever You Say, Say Nothing

1995

Caroline does not remember living in a time of peace; she has been a young child when the "troubles" in Belfast started. During the 25 years during which the war lasted, she got married and raised three children; and only a few weeks before the ceasefire started she was killed. Since the ceasefire, the situation in Northern Ireland has not changed much: the fear to talk is as big as ever before.

The Flats

2025 · ★ 6.7

In his tower-block apartment in New Lodge, Joe reenacts memories from his childhood amidst the “Troubles”. In this Catholic area of Belfast, the number of deaths was tragically significant. Joe is joined by neighbours Jolene, Sean, Angie, and others, all willingly participating in this process of revisiting the collective memories that shaped their lives and the district they live in.

American Troubles: A Tale of Two Democracies

2026

America's democracy feels more divided than ever - but what if the problem lies in how we vote? "American Troubles" explores whether proportional representation could break the cycle of dysfunction, drawing comparisons from two striking case studies: Portland, Oregon, where a bold new voting system is reshaping local politics, and Northern Ireland, where proportional elections helped end decades of violent conflict. Blending history, reform, and human stories, the film shows how electoral rules can entrench division - or create space for compromise.

Fr Des - The Way He Saw It

Father Des Wilson was a priest with a socialist outlook. In trouble-torn Belfast he embedded himself in a community that needed help, where he lived and worked from 1969 onwards. An extraordinary man in extraordinary circumstances.

Daughters of the Troubles: Belfast Stories

1996 · ★ 8

The women of Belfast played a unique role in holding together their families and communities during the Troubles in Northern Ireland. Filmed during the fragile 17-month paramilitary cease-fire, Daughters of the Troubles: Belfast Stories looks at the challenges facing women trying to put their direct experience of grassroots problems on the agenda of the established political parties. Their strength, first exhibited on the community level, started to reach a wider public.

The Secret Peacemaker

2023

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.

Troubles: The Life After

2018

A poetic, intimate account of the Troubles in Northern Ireland, told through the stories of a handful of people who lost loved ones during the conflict. It’s not the story of the politicians or the terrorists. It’s the story of the mothers, sisters and daughters who kept life going when everything around them was crumbling.

Hard Border

2018

Belfast-born actor Stephen Rea explores the impact of Brexit and the uncertainty of the future of the Irish border in a short film written by Clare Dwyer Hogg.

Keep It a Secret: The Story of the Dawn of Surfing in Ireland

2021

In the early 1970s, the world-class waves of Ireland were uncharted waters for the international surfing community. Amidst the ongoing conflict of the Troubles, pioneers in both Dublin and Belfast transcended political hostilities to host the 1972 Eurosurf championship. This look into the unsung history of the Emerald Isle’s now world-renowned surf scene details the power of sport to bridge any divide.

Lost Boys: Belfast's Missing Children

2023

During the winter of 1969, young boys started to disappear off the streets of Belfast, never to be seen again.

The Irish Revolution

2019 · ★ 8

The extraordinary story of the Irish War of Independence (1919-22): from the failed insurrection of 1916, the detailed account of how pro-independence Ireland rebuilt a movement whose efforts would eventually lead to the creation of a new nation. (Documentary film based on the miniseries of the same title.)