Synopsis
In 1988, following a wave of IRA atrocities, the British Government introduced a Broadcasting Ban, silencing Sinn Féin and other loyalist and republican paramilitary groups by forbidding broadcasters to allow anyone affiliated with these bodies to speak on television or radio. Bizarrely, however, a legal loophole allowed broadcasters to circumvent the ban by simply employing actors to re-voice the original sequences. Using unseen archive footage and present-day interviews with key figures such as Gerry Adams and Stephen Rea, The Ban reflects on the British government’s use of the threat of ‘terrorism’ to justify censorship, drawing inevitable comparisons with the present.
The Ban (2024) is a 27 min documentary short film by Roisin Agnew. In 1988, following a wave of IRA atrocities, the British Government introduced a Broadcasting Ban, silencing Sinn Fé...
Festival History
- Irish Film and Television Awards 2026 generic
- CPH:DOX 2025 generic
- Tribeca Film Festival 2025 generic
- International Documentary Film Festival Amsterdam 2024 generic
