Irish Film Institute -International Film Directory – Film Listing

Our Boys

    • Director

      Cathal Black

    • Credits

      Producer: Cathal Black.

    • Principal Cast

      Archie O'Sullivan, Mick Lally, Ciarán Hinds, Paul Connolly, John Costello

  • Category

    Short
    First Wave

Politically and technically bold, this short docu-drama from Cathal Black fuses dramatisation, interviews, and archive footage in an exposé of the culture of fear and brutality that defined the regime in educational institutions run by the Christian Brothers. The narrative highlights one boy's experience, with his family’s reaction interwoven with interviews with former students and teachers.  Unlike more recent films depicting clerical abuse, the film does not use melodrama but instead creates a haunting atmosphere through the chilling resonances that echo between fact and re-creation. The impact of an oppressive and powerful influence of Church and State on Irish society can be seen not only in the film but in its history: completed in 1982, Our Boys was not broadcast by its sponsors RTÉ until 1991.

42 minutes, Ireland, 1981, B&W

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