Northern Ireland Screen's Digital Film Archive is a free public access resource for teachers, students, historians and anyone who has an interest in moving images. Spanning from 1897 to the present day, the films in the Digital Film Archive cover all aspects of life in Northern Ireland and includes everything from dramas to documentaries, newsreels and features, animation to amateur footage.
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City of Londonderry
From monastic settlement of AD546 to Seventeenth Century walled city, discover Londonderry's proud history and industrial potential.
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Overview
This colourful film delves into various aspects of Derry life, from education to industry, culture to politics. It was co-produced by John Hume, a future founder of the SDLP and Nobel Peace Prize recipient. Filmed prior to the civil disturbances that would soon shatter Northern Ireland, it vividly depicts a city looking forward in expectations of future prosperity. It is the knowledge of those soon-to-be thwarted hopes that renders City of Londonderry especially poignant.
Terence McDonald (1926–2001) was a teacher, film historian, film collector and a pioneering amateur filmmaker from Derry. He made 35 films in his lifetime covering a wide range of themes such as mental health, travelling theatre, and portraits of his home town, Derry. His playful fiction films often pay homage to classic cinema moments from Peyton Place to Potemkin, from Chaplin to Jacques Tati. Terence McDonald undertook all aspects of production - filming, sound recording and editing and produced a body of remarkably sophisticated work. This film is courtesy of his son, Peter McDonald.
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