Foxtrot Films

creative original storytelling
films by Margy Kinmonth

Secret Policeman’s Treasure Trove

Margy filming with comediennes Jennifer Saunders and Ruby Wax OBE for
Amnesty’s feature doc “Remember the Secret Policeman’s Ball”.
Photos by Johnny Haddock.

An exciting find of newly rediscovered production stills of the making of Remember the Secret Policeman’s Ball has unearthed the fun and laughter of making the film. The film is about freedom of speech, still a prescient human rights issue for Amnesty International, and the amazing talent in the film speaks on behalf of those who cannot. Have a look here!

Watch it here:

Remember the Secret Policeman’s  Ball directed by Margy Kinmonth and produced by Roger Graef, is showing on BBC4 on Tuesday 23rd February 2021 at 22.00.

Secret Policeman Returns

Rowan Atkinson in Secret Policeman's Ball
Rowan Atkinson in “Remember the Secret Policeman’s Ball”

Celebrating the 25th anniversary of the legendary Secret Policeman’s Ball in aid of Amnesty International, the film features Britain’s finest comedians, including Stephen Fry, the Monty Python team, Rowan Atkinson, Lenny Henry, Ruby Wax, Alexei Sayle, Dawn French, Sting, Jennifer Saunders and Alan Bennett. “Remember the Secret Policeman’s Ball” directed by Margy Kinmonth and produced by Roger Graef, is showing on BBC4 on Tuesday 23rd February 2021 at 22.00.

Watch a clip below:

Viewers’ response to “To The Western World” American Premiere

 

…Astonishingly evocative…the film had faded but has been repurposed, it won lots of prizes at the time and deserved to …

…Completely brilliant! …

…those wonderful Irish thinkers (on the panel) are such a treat

…really stands the test of time….very worthwhile discussion and comments from the contributors…

…post film discussion really useful to explore context…history lesson for a modern times, nobody alive today has any links to that era…

…If you travelled those roads and lanes again what would you find? What stories could be told of the changes?…had a very traditional dins to eat while watching – colcannon with a slap of salty ‘bacon’….

…What a brilliant film…a highlight during these dark days…

…There’s no attempt here to romanticize the sometimes poetic, frequently loquacious Irish, no scene that feels manufactured. It’s as if we were observant flies on a backpack…

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How John Huston voiced “To the Western World”

l to r: John Huston, Turlough McConnell, Cormac O’ Malley, Christine Kinealy, Margy Kinmonth

Director Margy Kinmonth says:

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I wanted John Huston to narrate my film, to be the voice of God. How was I going to achieve this? The film which I’d written, directed, and produced on passion and fresh air, aided by crews, cooks, and cabbies, did not have a budget for Hollywood A-listers like Huston. But I did know he loved Ireland, so when I heard he was due in London for the book launch of his autobiography “An Open Book” I sprang into action. […]

Read all about how To the Western World was made here:

For Jack Yeats and for Ireland, published in IrishAmerica.com in January, 2021.

 

To The Western World US Premiere

To The Western World

“TO THE WESTERN WORLD”, the award winning drama documentary film by Margy Kinmonth is being shown at the 2021 Origin 1st Irish Virtual Film Festival. Remastered to mark the film’s 40th anniversary, this online presentation is the film’s American premiere.

The film tells the story of the tour made by Ireland’s great playwright John Millington Synge and major Irish artist Jack B. Yeats across Counties Galway and Mayo in 1905. Narrated by legendary film director John Huston, the film was shot entirely on location in the West of Ireland, starring actors from the Abbey Theatre including Tom Hickey, Pat Laffan, Brendan Cauldwell and Niall Tóibín.

The post screening talk is hosted by Turlough McConnell with film director Margy Kinmonth and guests Professor Christine Kinealy, founder of Ireland’s Great Hunger Institute at Quinnipiac University and historian Cormac O’Malley.

“TO THE WESTERN WORLD” shows on Tuesday Jan 19th 2021 at 20.00 GMT, 15.00 Eastern, 12.00 Pacific) repeating on Saturday 23rd Jan 20.00 Eastern, 17.00 Pacific (Sunday Jan 24th at 01.00 GMT).

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