The Secret

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.

The Secret


What is the great secret carried by the stranger who emerged through the fog and what will it take to make him part with it?

This foreboding allegory tells the tale of a stranger arriving in a land tormented by history. He emerges through the fog with a secret, but the warring giants and pygmies are too entrenched in their futile anger to heed his message. What is the great secret this dignified stranger carries and will anyone listen before it is too late?

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. His playful fiction films often pay homage to classic cinema moments, from Peyton Place to Potemkin, Charlie 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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