June 22nd, 2011
Press Association photographer
Niall Carson, who was covering
violence in east
Belfast was shot in the leg during a riot on Monday night. Stones, fireworks, petrol bombs and improvised missiles have been thrown between rival groups of masked rioters. Carson was taken to Royal Victoria hospital where he is now said to be in a stable condition.
March 8th, 2011
Suzanne Breen has been
awarded damages in her
libel case against the National Union of Journalists. She brought an action for defamation against the NUJ when the union’s magazine
published a member’s letter concerning her stance on protecting sources in articles about the Real IRA. The settlement also included an apology and a retraction.
October 6th, 2010
The organiser of an exhibition of anti-death penalty posters has
cancelled the event, because he feels it has been censored. Herve Matine said that councillors wanted to split up the collection, placing the more graphic images in a separate room with limited access. He was told that around a third of the posters, some of which depict hangings, would be moved because they could influence young people. DUP councillor Brian Kingston called the exhibition “disturbing”, but Matine stressed the importance of “public awareness”.
April 7th, 2010
APRIL 29 2010 – 2PM
MAKING POLITICAL FILMS ABOUT THE NORTH: THEN AND NOW
The troubles in the North of Ireland have long been the subject of film-makers. The film-making landscape has changed over the years, as has the political landscape. Both self censorship and political censorship have been key factors in defining which films get made and which don’t. The panel will discuss selected issues relating to censorship — what forms of censorship influence the work being made? is there any difference to the types of films being made 30 years ago and now?
The panel will include:
Mark Cousins director of The First Movie, screening at the Belfast Film Festival, has a first class degree in Film and Media Studies and Fine Art from the University of Stirling. He has since lectured on film history, been published internationally and made documentary films on arts and political themes. A former Director of the Edinburgh Film Festival, he now presents Scene-by-Scene on BBC television, conducting career interviews with actors and directors including Martin Scorcese, Woody Allen, Roman Polanski, Shohei Imamura, Jack Lemmon, Sean Connery, Tom Hanks, Dennis Hopper, Kirk Douglas, Rod Steiger, Jeanne Moreau, Lauren Bacall, the Coen Brothers, Bernardo Bertolucci, David Cronenberg, David Lynch, Donald Sutherland, Ewan McGregor and Jayne Russell. He lives in Edinburgh, Scotland.
James Flynn commenced his career in the Irish film industry with John Boorman’s Merlin Films International as Head of Development having previously worked for the Investment Bank of Ireland. After working as Business Manager of the fledgling Irish Film Board, he, along with Juanita Wilson, established Metropolitan Film Productions Limited with the intention of making strong, independent and resonant films for the international market. In-house projects developed and produced by Metropolitan Films include H3 and Nora.
He established Octagon Films in 2002. Octagon developed and produced Inside I’m Dancing, written by Jeffrey Caine (Goldeneye, The Constant Gardener) and directed by Damien O’Donnell (East Is East, Heartlands). Produced in conjunction with Working Title/Universal, it won the Audience Award at the Edinburgh International Film Festival and was released in the UK and Ireland by Momentum Pictures in autumn ‘04. It was screened as Rory O’Shea Was Here at the 2005 Sundance Film Festival and subsequently released in the U.S. by Focus. He is currently jointly producing Neil Jordan’s Ondine, starring Colin Farrell, in West Cork this summer and this will be released internationally during the Summer and/or Autumn of 2009.
For more information please visit their website http://www.belfastfilmfestival.org
June 30th, 2009
Democratic Unionist Party politician Ian Paisley Jr has been ordered to pay a fine for contempt of court after his refusal to reveal the name of a prison officer who informed him of the destruction of files after the murder of loyalist paramilitary Billy Wright at the Maze prison in 1997.
Read more
here
June 18th, 2009
Belfast journalist, Suzanne Breen of the Sunday Tribune does not have to hand over her notes to the police, the High Court has ruled. A judge ruled that to give up her sources and material would endanger her life. Read more
here
June 11th, 2009
Journalist Suzanne Breen appears in a Belfast court today in an attempt to protect her sources.
Read more
here
May 6th, 2009
Police threats to use anti-terror powers, forcing Irish reporter Suzanne Breen to hand over materials relating to dissident republican groups are an affront to journalistic ethics and free expression, says Anthony McIntyre
(more…)
