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‘No Go: The Free Derry Story' , the eagerly awaited follow up to Vinny Cunningham's award-winning ‘ Battle of the Bogside' documentary has now been completed and is due to screen on BBC 1 on Wednesday, 6th September. In a great coup for Derry company, Open Reel Productions, the BBC have also announced that ‘ Battle of the Bogside' will be repeated on the Monday night, to whet the audience's appetite for the new film.
‘No Go' picks up from just where the last film left off. On the 14th 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?
Narrated by Bernard Hill, ‘ No Go' tells the story of what happened and takes viewers behind the barricades and into the nine surreal weeks of 1969 that have come to be immortalised as Free Derry.
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'.
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.'
The added bonus for Cunningham in getting ‘ Battle of the Bogside' repeated was also an unexpected surprise.
‘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.'
As well as the BBC1 transmission, ‘No Go' will also feature in many upcoming film festivals, starting with the ‘Seagate Foyle Film Festival' in November, where a screening will take place at the Strand Multiplex.
‘Battle of the Bogside' will be screened on BBC 1 at 10.35pm : Monday 4th September.
‘No Go: The Free Derry Story' will be screened on BBC 1 at 10.40pm : Wednesday 6th September.
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
For further information and/ or stills:
VINNY CUNNINGHAM info@northlandbroadcast.net
JOHN PETO jp@nerve-centre.org.uk
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