THE PIPE, the award-winning Irish documentary on Rossport’s struggle against the economic might of Shell, will be screened in The Eye cinema in Wellpark on Saturday December 4.
The Pipe, which received standing ovations at the London, Toronto, and Cork film festivals, and the Best Documentary award at the Galway Film Fleadh, was directed by Risteard Ó Domhnaill and produced by Rachel Lysaght.
Rossport has been resisting Shell’s attempts to install a high-pressure pipeline to transport unprocessed gas from the massive new gas fields off the coast to an inland refinery. However the years of protest have also left bitter divisions in the community between campaigners.
For four years, Ó Domhnaill’s intimate access allowed him follow three members of the community - Willie Corduff, one of the Rossport Five and his attempts to defend the farm his father reclaimed from the bog; Monica Müller who refused to join protests but whose court action has delivered a major blow to Shell; and Pat ‘The Chief’ O’Donnell, a local fisherman who is repeatedly arrested for daringly sailing his small fishing boat into the path of the gigantic pipe-layer The Solitaire.
The film captures the anxiety, anger, and disillusionment of years of conflict as well as their passionate connection to the local environment, and the spirit, humour, and heroism that sustains them.
The Pipe goes on general release in The Eye for two weeks. It will also be screened at Cinemobile in Portumna on Saturday December 11 and Sunday 12. See also www.thepipethefilm.com
