Prisoners of the Moon

1st July 1990, Toronto Airport: an 83 year-old man is arrested for war crimes. Twenty-one years earlier Arthur Rudolph had been the much-honoured linchpin of the first moon landing.

This feature documentary tells the story of the only former Nazi to be stripped of his American citizenship and deported. When he tried to return, his Immigration Tribunal revealed much about the Germans who lead the moon shot, their wartime records, the cover-up that brought them to America, why it took forty years to investigate them, and why none of them were brought to trial.

The film uses archive footage – including original interviews with Rudolph - revelatory witness interviews and courtroom dramatisation to narrate this episode of untold history.

“has a heft that’s given an eerie quality by fine performances, thoughtful direction and a creepy soundtrack by Steve Wickham” The Guardian
“a gripping account of one of the biggest cover ups of the twentieth century” Irish Examiner
“unveils staggering information and imagery” The Telegraph

Hubert Butler
Witness To The Future

Irish essayist Hubert Butler wrote brilliantly about the inter-war Jewish crisis, exposed the genocide in World War II Yugoslavia and anticipated the re-emergence of these animosities in a future Balkan War. Butler paid a price for these insights in his home country, but was ultimately celebrated as a champion of pluralism. Using recently de-classified documents and events still working their way out in today's international sphere – not least in the rise of populism - this highly visual and expansive film explores why, in the words of Olivia O'Leary, Butler “was fifty years ahead of his time” and, as echoed by Roy Foster and John Banville, “one of the great Irish writers", arguably it’s greatest modern exponent of the essay form.

“In 1952, while attending a lecture in the Rotunda, Dublin, about the persecution of the Catholic Church by the Yugoslav communist regime, essayist and market-gardener Hubert Butler reminded the audience about the Catholic treatment of the Orthodox in Croatia, and the massacre he had recounted in Father Chok and Compulsory Conversion. The papal nuncio walked out, and Butler was soon denounced as a dangerous communist. The apostolic protester would have done well to sit back down, for the erudite Butler had plenty of wisdom to impart. Butler, a translator of Gogol and Chekhov who helped smuggle Jews into Ireland from pre-war Vienna, is finally, deservedly in vogue some 26 years after his death. Johnny Gogan’s thoroughly engaging documentary makes great use of lately declassified documents and location. A parade of compelling contributors – including biographer Robert Toibin and Hubert’s daughter Julia – turn out to be what the Avengers are to the Marvelverse. Marvellous.” Tara Brady, Irish Times

Black Ice

Set in rural Donegal, Black Ice follows Jimmy Devlin, played by ‘Love/Hate’ star Killian Scott, and his complicated relationship with girlfriend Alice Watters, played by newcomer Jane McGrath in a debut role which secured her an IFTA nomination. The story, set in a clandestine road racing scene where Jimmy is considered “top dog” among the petrol heads, also follows his and Alice’s struggle to break into the legit professional rally scene, but there are other forces at work in this shadowy border world threatening to undermine their ambition. Black Ice received a wide release in Ireland on 13 prints, was one of the best Irish performers at the box office that year, before becoming a best seller on DVD and receiving repeated broadcasts on RTE.

“Film-maker Johnny Gogan has long – and commendably – sought to represent the cinematically disenfranchised. Black Ice, the Leitrim man’s latest work, is no different.”
— Tara Brady, Irish Times
“Black Ice is a well-shot, thoughtful-provoking drama featuring excellent performances from McGrath and the always reliable Scott, plus solid support from the likes of Donal O’Kelly and Marian Quinn.”
— RTE Guide Cinema Reviews

IFTA nominated in Best Actor category for Jane McGrath in the lead.