The Lonely Battle of Thomas Reid // IRISH FILM FESTIVAL SYDNEY

Published by: Aidan McLaughlin | 26-Apr-2019
Thomas Reid lives a solitary life on the fringes of mainstream society, farming the lands passed down to him by his father and grandfather before. But Thomas' idyllic lifestyle is threatened by the compulsory purchase of his land by a multinational company. A modern day David and Goliath tale in this weird and wonderful documentary.
A Kildare Farmer and the Authorities looking to take his land collide in Feargal Ward's critically acclaimed and award- winning Irish film, The Lonely Battle of Thomas Reid.

Kildare farmer Thomas Reid lives a solitary life on the fringes of mainstream society, but beyond the walls of his 18th century farm sits an American factory which is vital to the national economy but has an unsettling presence in Thomas's life. Farming and protecting the lands passed down to him by his father and grandfather before him, Thomas didn't welcome the agents who come to inquire about his house and lands. He vowed to resist.

The film is a searching examination of the tension between a high-tech, low-tax globalized Ireland and the right of an individual citizen to continue living and working the lands of his ancestors. This film also harnesses the immersive power of cinema, creating a multilayered psychological portrait of this fascinating individual and his experience; of the country that houses him, and the State that seeks to evict him.

This extraordinary Irish Documentary also won the film critics' Best Irish Film Award at the Dublin International Film Festival 2018. It has been a hit on the international film festival circuit since its world premiere at IDFA Amsterdam (the world's biggest documentary film festival) in November 2017, and has since screened at prestigious festivals including Madrid, Munich, Toronto, Istanbul, Sheffield and Moscow.

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