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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The Secret
What is the great secret carried by the stranger who emerged through the fog and what will it take to make him part with it?
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Overview
This foreboding allegory tells the tale of a stranger arriving in a land tormented by history. He emerges through the fog with a secret however the warring giants and pygmies are too entrenched in their futile anger to heed his message. What is the great secret this dignified stranger carries and will anyone listen before it is too late? It was written by Cyril Farrell and produced by Terence McDonald during the early years of violent sectarian conflict in Northern Ireland.
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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