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Director
Aoife Kelleher
Credits
Writer:Rachel Lysaght
Category
Documentary
In 1879, fifteen people in the village of Knock, Co. Mayo witnessed an apparition of the Virgin Mary. The village was declared a Marian Shrine and today welcomes over one million pilgrims annually. Aoife Kelleher (One Million Dubliners) builds a vibrant portrait of the phenomenon through its devotees – invalids seeking cures; the eight sibling owners of rival religious merchandise shops; a woman relieved of MS during a 1970s pilgrimage; feisty Mildred, advocate for gender parity for the shrine’s handmaids; the staff of the Knock Marriage Bureau; and Fr. Richard Gibbons, the charismatic, outward-looking Parish Priest, working to attract transatlantic visitors to the shrine. With its references to ‘the scandals’, falling church attendances and the eighth amendment, the film presents a timely reflection on the position of the Church in modern Ireland and a compelling glimpse into an anachronistic but thriving world. Notes by Sunniva O’Flynn
90 minutes, Ireland, 2016, Colour
EAFFI DISCOVERIES: THE BREAKING ICE + Q&A 18.10
HEART OF AN OAK 13:00, 20:45
KINDS OF KINDNESS 14:55
SLEEP 16:15, 18:30 (OC)
THAT THEY MAY FACE THE RISING SUN 20:50
THE COMMANDANT’S SHADOW
THE CONVERSATION 50TH ANNIVERSARY 4K RESTORATION 15:40
THE SPARROW 20:50
The IFI is supported by The Arts Council