A City Solitary

From the collection of

Northern Ireland Screen's Digital Film Archive
Launched in 2000, Northern Ireland Screen’s Digital Film Archive spans from 1897 to the present day and currently contains an ever-expanding catalogue of 13,000 items. It comprises material from a variety of depositors including feature films, sport, documentaries, animation, amateur footage, light entertainment, and a significant proportion of broadcast material from the UTV Archive.

A City Solitary


Doughty, hardworking and with hope in their hearts, can the city's people meet the challenges ahead and "build a bridge for Derry's future?"

An expository documentary that contemplates the history of the city and the circumstances that have led to the divisions and disparity between the Catholic (working class) and the Protestant (merchant class) communities. The myriad economic and social causes of these divisions are examined: the decline in local industry, outward emigration and unemployment.

Terence McDonald (1926-2001) was a teacher, film historian, film collector and a pioneering amateur filmmaker from Derry. He made 35 films in his lifetime covering a wide range of themes such as mental health, travelling theatre, and portraits of his home town, Derry. His playful fiction films often pay homage to classic cinema moments from Peyton Place to Potemkin, from Chaplin to Jacques Tati. Terence McDonald undertook all aspects of production - filming, sound recording and editing and produced a body of remarkably sophisticated work. This film is courtesy of his son, Peter McDonald.


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