The Lonely Battle of Thomas Reid

All Equal? Close Up Truth To Power
Director: Feargal Ward | Countries of production: Ireland | Year: 2017 | Length: 77 min
Language: English with English subtitles | Age: 12+ years
Genres: Documentary |
Topics: Land Rights
| Regions: Ireland

Screened as part of TOAFF18

A soft-spoken Irish cattle farmer embarks on a reluctant battle for land rights in this beguiling David and Goliath tale.

Thomas Reid lives a solitary, frugal life tending to the livestock on his chaotic 17th-century Kildare farm. When his unlikely neighbours, U.S. microchip manufacturer Intel, set their sights on Reid’s land to facilitate their expansion, Reid refuses to sell. Faced with a compulsory purchase order on his ancestral home, Reid takes his fight against eviction all the way to the High Court – proving a formidable opponent to the combined forces of Ireland’s aggressively pro-business policies and a giant multinational’s legal team.

Echoing similar battles taking place across the world (including Scotland), this lyrical documentary captures a fundamental clash between a rural attachment to the land and a very narrow vision of economic development.

“[This] lyrical and unconventional documentary explores the clash between tradition and progress; between the rights of the individual and the perceived good of society.” – Screen Daily

Official Selection, IDFA

Official Selection, One World

 

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