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Q&A Page
The Ban: Q&AIn 1988, during the conflict in Northern Ireland, Margaret Thatcher's government banned UK broadcasters from giving airtime to representatives of the IRA and Sinn Féin, to deprive them of 'the oxygen of publicity'.
Thanks to a loophole in the law, a practice developed for actors to dub recorded interviews instead.Through unseen archive footage and present-day interviews with key figures such as Gerry Adams and Stephen Rea (who once voiced him), The Ban reflects on the British government’s use of the threat of ‘terrorism’ to justify censorship, drawing inevitable comparisons with today.
The screening on Saturday the 7th of December was followed by a Q&A with director Roisin Agnew. Hosted by artistic director of Berwick Film and Media Arts Festival, Peter Taylor.