'No Go: The Free Derry Story'

Director/ Producer: VINNY CUNNINGHAM, Writer: JOHN PETO

Photography: MARK McCAULEY,

Narrated by Bernard Hill

Sound Recording Billy Gallagher

Music: John O’Neill (The Undertones, That Petrol Emotion)

59 Minutes,UK/ Ireland, Format: 35mm Film

Synopsis:

No Go: The Free Derry Story’, the eagerly awaited follow up to Vinny Cunningham’s award-winning ‘Battle of the Bogside’ documentary (screened in at Würzburg Film Fest 2005) has in Autumn 2006 just been completed and will be screened at this year's Würzburg Film Festival.

‘No Go’ picks up from just where the last film ('Battle of the Bogside') left off. On the 14^th August 1969 the British Army were deployed onto Northern Ireland’s streets for the first time, to relieve an exhausted RUC in the wake of the Battle of the Bogside. As they entered the city the troops were confronted with a ring of barricades surrounding the Bogside area and manned by the rioters, presenting them with an instant dilemma – to attempt to remove the barricades and provoke a confrontation, or to leave the barricades intact and allow the Bogside to remain beyond official law & order?

Prizes:

Bio-Filmography

Vinny Cunningham started out as a cameraman in December 1983. He began work for Derry-based Northland Films in February 1989. When this company decided to split in December 1996, the Sound Recordist there (Billy Gallagher) and Vinny formed their own company, Northland Broadcast.

Since then, he has crewed on a vast amount of documentaries, news items and features for broadcasters and independent production companies from around the globe, as well as expanding into the production of several TV documentaries and features. Perfect Cousin Productions was formed in order to produce some of these documentaries.

Vinny won the ‘GUILD OF TELEVISION CAMERAMEN’ award in October 2000.

Press

DIRECTOR’S STATEMENT:

Vinny Cunningham, Director of Open Reel Productions said:

‘After the success of Battle of the Bogside we were left with the feeling that we had only told half of the story of the 1969 period in Derry. The response to Battle was so positive that we were determined to finish the job off and bring this amazing story to life for a new generation of people both in Derry and beyond.’

Both films have recently been screened on BBC Northern Ireland. Cunningham:.

‘Battle of the Bogside has never been shown on BBC NI, it was previously shown on BBC2 and BBC4 so the decision to screen it on the Monday, ahead of the premiere of No Go on the Wednesday is brilliant. It’s the first time that we have had two feature length documentaries about Derry screened in the same week, so it’s just fantastic for all of us.’

FULL SYNOPSIS:

The film has been produced by the same team that enjoyed such success with ‘Battle of the Bogside’, with the Direction of Vinny Cunningham again supported by the writing of John Peto, the editing of Kevin Murray, the photography of Mark McCauley and Billy Gallagher’s sound recording. The music soundtrack for the film was composed by John O’Neill (The Undertones, That Petrol Emotion).

‘No Go’ features testimony from many of the key protagonists in the Free Derry period, including the then British Home Secretary James Callaghan, members of the British Army, singer Tommy Makem and several figures from the Derry Citizens Defence Association, who effectively governed Free Derry, including Paddy Doherty, Eamonn McCann and Dermie McClenaghan, while Gregory Campbell and Alistair Simpson provide a Unionist perspective on the events.

In addition to the interviews, ‘No Go’ makes extensive use of archive footage from the period, including rare footage from the Bogside, which has not been seen in almost 36 years, as well as exclusive access to recordings of the pirate radio station, ‘Radio Free Derry’.

NOTES:

Producer/ Director: VINNY CUNNINGHAM

Writer/ Producer: JOHN PETO

An ‘OPEN REEL PRODUCTION’ for BBC

Duration: 59 minutes

Co-funded by

‘Bord Scannán na hÉireann/the Irish Film Board’

Lottery Funded by

The Arts Council of Northern Ireland

through

NORTHERN IRELAND FILM AND TELEVISION COMMISSION

in association with

NORTHLAND BROADCAST

and

THE NERVE CENTRE

‘BATTLE OF THE BOGSIDE’ won the award for ‘BEST DOCUMENTARY’ at the Irish Film and Television Awards in 2004.

For further information and/ or stills:

VINNY CUNNINGHAM info@northlandbroadcast.net

JOHN PETO jp@nerve-centre.org.uk

Attached JPEGS:

1. L-R: Vinny Cunningham (Producer/ Director), Bernard Hill (Narrator), Billy Gallagher (Sound Recordist)

2. Tommy Makem, who performed at the ‘Free Derry Fleadh’ in August 1969

3. Free Derry area: August 1969

4. James Callaghan (British Home Secretary, 1969) visits the Bogside (August 1969) accompanied by John Hume

5. No Go Poster

kurzer Text für die Homepage (ca. 2 Zeilen):

Follow up Documentary to the award winning 'Battle of the Bogside' -deals with the consequences of the British Army being deployed onto Northern Ireland’s streets for the first time in 14^th August 1969

In association with St Kilians Irish Sports Club ( www.stkilians.de ) " No Go: The Free Derry Story " appears at the Wü International Film Festival.

In Zusammenhang mit St Kilians Irish Hurling & Football Club ( www.stkilians.de ) " No Go: The Free Derry Story " kommt zu der Wü International Filmfest.