UK Preview Screening: ‘Gerry Adams: A Ballymurphy Man’ + Q&A with Director Trisha Ziff, Cinematographer Seamus McGarvey: interviewer Author Timothy O’Grady
Followed by a Q&A with Director Trisha Ziff & Cinematographer Seamus McGarvey.
Join us for the exclusive UK preview of Gerry Adams: A Ballymurphy Man, an award-winning feature documentary exploring the life of the man who led his community in Northern Ireland from conflict to peace — followed by a live Q&A with acclaimed director Trisha Ziff and Oscar nominated cinematographer Seamus McGarvey. Trisha and Seamus will be interviewed by the award winning Author Timothy O’Grady (Monaghan and I Could read the Sky).
This film is an Irish/Mexican co-production. Supported in development by Screen Ireland, produced and post produced in Mexico City by 212 BERLIN FILMS, Mexico.
Seamus McGarvey is one of Ireland’s and the UK’s leading Cinematographers. He has collected two Academy Award nominations for Joe Wright’s “Atonement,” and his adaptation of Tolstoy’s classic, “Anna Karenina.” In addition to the Oscar nominations, McGarvey won the British Society of Cinematographers Award for “Anna Karenina” and “Nocturnal Animals” as well a BAFTA. Seamus has worked extensively as a Cinematographer on major international feature films.
Winner of Best International Documentary at the Galway Film Fleadh 2025 – an intimate and revealing portrait of one of Ireland’s most influential and controversial political figures.
Doors: 1.30pm; Starts: 2pm
Tickets: £10
Gerry Adams is one of the most controversial leaders of our time. He led his community in Northern Ireland from conflict to peace. Adams was a critical voice in the decision taken by the IRA to lay down their arms after their 25-year war against the British. Imprisoned and shot, he was demonised and censored by dominant media as a subversive and terrorist, yet the British and their allies were forced to recognise his legitimacy and negotiate with him and Sinn Féin, the Irish peace accord, ‘The Good Friday Agreement’.
A private man, this is the first time Adams sits down to tell his story, from a teenage activist to party leader. Today, he is an elder statesman supporting the next generations on their path toward Irish unity.
Gerry Adams first met the Director Trisha Ziff,( who’s from England and lives and works in Mexico), a community activist and was founder of the “Camerawork Derry” workshop, at the height of the Northern Ireland conflict in 1981, remaining in contact for over forty years. This film weaves together interviews recorded over 5 years with layers of photographs and moving images, many not seen before. Hear Adams’ uncensored perspectives on the conflict, a life spanning war and transition to peace, and an ongoing campaign towards Irish unity.
Special Feature: The screening will be followed by a live Q&A with the Director Trisha Ziff and the Oscar nominated Cinematographer Seamus McGarvey.
Credits:
Director/Producer: Trisha Ziff
Co-Producer: Ross McDonnell
Ireland & Mexico, 2025 | 117 mins
What the Press Say…
“This film’s achievement is to further the understanding of a once-controversial figure, whose life provides a window into a much wider movement and how the fiercest of conflicts can ultimately find a way to resolution”. – Screen Daily
“This documentary brings to light the story of one man who dedicated his life to the basic civil rights of working-class people and the establishment of a free Republic without foreign interference and one that is shared with our unionist friends”. – Belfast Media
“Few could reasonably deny that Ziff’s film is a sympathetic work…in which Adam’s description of intimidated Catholics arriving as refugees to Ballymurphy in the 1960s is moving and enraging. His analysis of a shift from passive acceptance in the nationalist community is convincing”. – The Irish Times
“The film reveals someone who likes to walk; talks about playing with his child when he got out of prison; the fantasy games he played with his child; a whole person; a person that reveals a humanity that we haven’t seen,” says Ms Ziff. “It’s not about propaganda, it’s not a whitewash. It’s just showing somebody in their fullness.” – The Irish News
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