Premiere of powerful new documentary at Disappear Here Film Festival in Ballyliffin

The highly anticipated short documentary ‘The Kildoney Men’, winner of the Donegal Short Documentary Bursary, will premiere at this year’s Disappear Here Film Festival in Ballyliffin on Sunday, October 5.

Directed by Daragh Goan, The Kildoney Men is a poetic and personal documentary, narrated by acclaimed actor Stephen Rea.

The film revisits the 1927 Erne Fisherman’s case, when a group of courageous fishermen and community organisers — including one of Goan’s own relatives — challenged the Erne Fishery Company’s claim to exclusive fishing rights on the Erne Estuary.

“It’s a story I grew up with,” says Goan, who is originally from Dublin but now lives between there and Ballyshannon.

“As the 100-year anniversary approached, I felt compelled to mark the occasion and reflect on its relevance to today’s struggles for justice – especially climate justice.”

This is Goan’s first documentary, though he is no stranger to storytelling.

The 28-year-old primarily writes and directs fiction and works as a sustainability advisor in film and television. He recently founded Eschaton Productions, a company dedicated to telling stories about the climate crisis in eco-conscious ways.

The Donegal Short Documentary Bursary is a joint initiative of ChangeMakers Donegal, the Disappear Here Film Club, and Concern Worldwide, designed to support local filmmakers in exploring pressing societal issues through film.

“This bursary is about empowering filmmakers to connect local stories with global issues,” explains Myra McAuliffe, of ChangeMakers.

“Daragh’s film does exactly that – it honours a historic act of community resistance while sparking vital conversations about climate justice today. We’re proud to support work that uses the power of film to inspire action and reflection.”

Goan hopes The Kildoney Men will serve as a launchpad for a longer documentary and spark community conversations around climate action and grassroots organising.

“It’s a story about courage in the face of great odds and a system that seemed impossible to challenge until it wasn’t anymore,” he added.

“I would like to particularly thank the producer Mairead Burke, cinematographer JP Quill, editor Andrew Scally, production designer Maura Logue and local historian Paddy Donagher, without whom the film would not have been made.”

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The premiere of The Kildoney Men at the Disappear Here Film Festival promises to be a moving and thought-provoking experience, celebrating the power of film to connect past and present, personal and political. It takes place on Sunday, 5th October at 3pm at the Ballyliffin Hotel. Entry is €9, payable at the door.

The ChangeMakers Donegal programme will also feature a screening of The Encampments, a documentary about the pro-Palestine protests in Colombia University, which sparked a global movement. The film will be followed by a panel discussion featuring Letterkenny-based Palestinian Fadl Mustapha and Sue Pentel, of Jews for Palestine Ireland.