A €2.8 million documentary that will be the centrepiece of the television coverage of the Easter Rising centenary will be screened simultaneously in Irish embassies across the world.
The Irish Rebellion will be narrated by Liam Neeson and designed by Annie Atkins, who won an Oscar for best production design for the film The Grand Budapest Hotel.
The documentary has been mostly funded and organised by the University of Notre Dame in Indiana, with 20 per cent of its budget coming from RTÉ and Section 481 funding.
A 70-minute cinematic version of the documentary will be premiered at the National Concert Hall on March 16th, 2016, and will be simulcasted in Irish embassies across the world to local audiences.
A three-part version of the documentary will be broadcast on RTÉ at a date to be decided next year.
The documentary aims to internationalise the events of Easter Week 1916 and to place them in their historical, political and cultural contexts, as the precursor to an independent Irish State and the disintegration of colonial empires.
‘International importance’
Prof Bríona Nic Dhiarmada, chair of Irish Language and Literature at Notre Dame, said the purpose of the documentary is to show how the Easter Rising was not only a pivotal event in 20th century Ireland, but also an event of international importance.
The documentary will be broadcast in three parts on public television in the US. The BBC and broadcasters in Canada and Australia have also expressed interest in screening it.
Notre Dame is also planning symposiums in at least 10 countries across the world, including India, Australia and New Zealand, where Irish studies are being conducted.
Reframing 1916 will be a series of academic events sponsored by Notre Dame in cooperation with Irish embassies and consular services. The series will take place during the State’s centenary commemorations.
