Underground Films crowd funding campaign for feature documentary on Knock

Underground Films are producing a feature documentary on Knock, and have launched a crowd funding campaign , they aim to raise €70,000 in 36 days.

https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/knock--2#/

http://www.undergroundfilms.ie/

https://www.facebook.com/knockfilm

The film is funded by RTÉ Religious, the Broadcast Authority of Ireland and Section 481 tax credit. Knock shoots from August 2015 - Easter 2016 and will be will be released in cinemas nationwide in 2016. August 9th sees the first transatlantic pilgrimage arrive into Knock, direct from JFK.  The pilgrimage led by Cardinal Timothy Dolan, Archbishop of New York, is the first of its kind, with 170+ American pilgrims attending the Novena. Underground Films will follow these pilgrims on-camera a few months after they return to the US - to discover what impact the pilgrimage, Knock and Ireland has had on their lives. 

Synopsis
Welcome to Knock - the town built on a miracle.

At first glance, Knock may appear to be little more than a relic of Ireland’s past, populated by dogmatic Catholics steadfastly clinging to the idea that the Virgin Mary once appeared in a backwater in the West of Ireland.  But Knock is full of people with compelling stories, some of whom believe in The Miracle, some in smaller, everyday miracles, and some who come in search of spirituality, “a greater experience of God, a greater encounter”.  All who come here, come with hope. 

Middle-aged romantics seeking the perfect partner at the Knock Marriage Bureau, the Travellers who walk barefoot for days to reach the Shrine, the Catholic pilgrims who seek benediction or absolution, curious Muslims from the border town of Ballyhaunis, rosy-cheeked children preparing for their first Holy Communion, the sick, and recovering addicts in search of a miraculous cure.   At the centre of it, parish priest Father Richard Gibbons – lawyer, philosopher, local hero – who has been charged with saving the Shrine, and with it the village, and his beloved Church.  In Summer 2015, the American faithful are due to land at Knock Airport, led by Cardinal Timothy Dolan of New York City.  Can the village  a tiny, rural Irish town become the new Lourdes?

This film explores daily life in Knock, as, under the leadership of Father Richard, the shrine – and the village itself – is modernised to adapt to and serve the needs of contemporary Ireland and 21st century Catholicism.  Through our examination of this journey and of daily life and ritual in this small, iconic town, the film explores attitudes to faith, and what place belief now occupies in modern, western society.  Above all, the film examines the universal longing to believe; the basic human need for hope.

Underground Films
At Underground Films we make films that engage the mind as well as the heart.  Based in Dublin, we produce high-end documentary and feature films for the international theatrical and television markets, and distribute across multiple platforms.  Our content is recognized for its audience engagement, superior production values and strong social impact. We believe that great stories not only entertain, but also have the power to change the world, and how we look at it. 

Our films connect with audiences, and enjoy a high level of public engagement, from standing ovations in theatres, to trending #1 on Twitter, and inspiring words and action, most notably the raising of environmental concerns in the Irish and Norwegian parliaments in response to ‘The Pipe’, the hailing of ‘Patrick’s Day’ by critics as ‘a film that may change the way how we view mental illness’ by and an 87% increase in visitor numbers to Glasnevin Museum after the release of ‘One Million Dubliners’. 

The company has produced work for RTÉ, TG4, BBC, TSR, as well as UK Film Council, British Film Institute, Berlin Film Festival, Film Agency Wales and Bord Scannán na hÉireann/the Irish Film Board, and has sold completed projects to over 40 territories across all 5 continents.

Internationally, Underground Films’ productions have been selected for many prestigious awards and festivals, including the Cinema for Peace Award, Grierson Awards, SXSW, Woodstock, Berlinale, IDFA and TIFF, and have cumulatively won 48 recognised industry awards across 4 continents.  Within Ireland the work has received six IFTA Awards (Irish Film & Television Award) and the Human Rights Film Award, Irish Council for Civil Liberties (ICCL). 

Please click here to view more about the work that we do.
·      Sold to 40 territories across 5 continents

·      Winner of 48 international industry recognised awards since 2010

·      87% increase in visitor numbers to Glasnevin Museum in 2015, since the release of ‘One Million Dubliners’

·      ‘The Pipe’ discussed in Irish and Norwegian parliaments 2011

·       ‘One Million Dubliners’ #1 Twitter