Censoring the Troubles - how we made the new documentary

Filmmaker Frank Sweeney introduces his new documentary Few Can See, which explores the legacy of Irish and British censorship of the conflict in the north of Ireland - watch the trailer above.

'Caution lay like a thick cloud over everything.'

Read More: 30 years on, a short history of Ireland's Section 31 broadcasting ban

Few Can See attempts to recreate some of the censored material described in Purcell’s book and elsewhere, which is now absent from broadcasting archives. To do this, we conducted contemporary oral history interviews with people from censored groups, created a script based on verbatim transcripts of these interviews and actors then reenacted these interviews within a 1980’s television format. This process was inspired by the use of actors to dub interviews censored under similar legislation on British broadcasters. Although we went to great lengths to faithfully recreate a television show from this era with sets, costume, hair, make up and old broadcasting equipment, we of course can never replace what was not recorded and preserved at the time.

When Few Can See was first screened in September 2023, the hope was that the film might help us think through the legacy of censorship in contemporary narratives about the conflict in Ireland and Britain. It's hard to talk about the film now without thinking of the ongoing censorship of voices in support of Palestinian liberation. The systemic censorship by social media companies, accusations of pro-Israel bias by BBC staff, or the silencing of cultural workers and academics in Germany and the U.S. are just a few reminders that censorship in all of its forms, remains an important part of allowing colonial violence to continue.