In “A Fragile Peace: Inside Brexit and Belfast,” actor and filmmaker Rory Duffy and producer Hyun Joo trace the history of a 30-year conflict, exploring the way the hard-won peace is threatened now by the shadow of Brexit.
Generations of the young have reached adulthood in a society at peace in the north of Ireland now. Although the civil conflict euphemistically referred to as the Troubles may have ended, there are still vital lessons to be learned.
The acclaimed multi-festival competing documentary keeps picking up prestigious new awards because - 27 years after the signing of the Good Friday Agreement - it's a particularly timely reminder to our own era that peace and conflict are choices that are made or unmade.
The challenges thrown up by Brexit (first supported by the unionist DUP party when it promised to harden the Irish border, then lamented by it when it did the opposite) are complex, but the film breaks it down elegantly.
The film asks, will Brexit reignite sectarian violence, or has it become the most ill-considered of all the unintended steps towards Irish unification?
Does Brexit have the potential to undermine the Good Friday Agreement and reignite The Troubles?
In a time of rapidly shifting international relationships, does the UK's unilateral move help or hinder the Republic's economic and political stability?
Award winning Irish documentary in search of streaming broadcast in the USA
Building interest in the documentary to get it released on streaming platforms here is the job at hand for the filmmakers now, a job that's being aided by the many awards the film keeps piling up.
“We're trying to build a coalition and get a little bit of a following of the film,” director Duffy tells IrishCentral.
“We're getting it out there and we couldn't be prouder.”
“The film has been accepted into 13 festivals,” continues Duffy.
“It won best feature documentary at Crown Points International Film Festival and Austin International Festival and Best Film Essay at Area51 Film Festival.
"It has been nominated for best documentary director at Area51, and best documentary feature at Big Apple Film Festival New York, Area51, Hawaii International Film Festival, Doc Only Copenhagen, and Liverpool Indie Awards.
"It's been an incredible journey so far.”
The renewed public interest in the hard lessons of the Troubles has not been lost on Duffy.
“There's a lot of interest in Northern Irish stories from 'Say Nothing' on Hulu to 'Derry Girls,' both of which have done really well here in the States.
"So I hope to get a streamer involved for our film. For documentaries, the ultimate goal is to get it on one of the big streamers because I think that's the widest audience that you can actually get.”
In an era where conflicts seem endless and the political will to conclude them seems non-existent, how great to have a reminder that a conflict that once looked like it would never end actually did. That's a message that needs to get out there and “A Fragile Peace: Inside Brexit and Belfast”tells that story.
Let's hope the streaming services are listening.