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A LOVE DIVIDED
BELFAST

1991 52′ Documentary
Channel 4 / WDR
One of a series of 4 documentaries filmed in Belfast, Berlin, Jerusalem and Johannesburg.
Love Divided
Margaret Williams photo

S Y N O P S I S

These films are about love and separation, about couples in love but kept apart by forces beyond their control. The films are also incidentally about cultures and societies divided by those same forces. Each film focuses on one couple and follows their struggle to keep their love alive and stay together in the face of opposition and prejudice from their families and friends, or from the society around them.

All of the films in this series are as much about divided cities as about lovers divided. Each of the cities is torn by political conflict and is a focus for the attention of the world’s media, none more so than Belfast, where sectarian violence has become a part of everyday life. But despite the divisions between the Catholic and Protestant communities, and despite the risk of punishment from the paramilitary organisations on both sides, many relationships have been formed across the divide

In the midst of the Troubles life goes on and love survives. But the tragedy is that, although nearly a third of the marriages in Belfast are mixed, and although life for most of those mixed couples is unaffected by the Troubles, everyone in Northern Ireland is at risk. Any mixed couple who publicize their relationship risk attack. So our couple can only appear in the film if their identity is concealed.

R E V I E W S

‘If you don’t watch anything else this week try and stay in for this. A real delight’.
Time Out

‘A film proving that, despite countless TV programmes on the Troubles, a documentary about Northern Ireland can still surprise, even startle’.
Geoffrey Phillips, Evening Standard

C R E D I T S

director
MARGARET WILLIAMS

director of photography
PATRICK DUVAL

editor
JO KINGSLEY

producers
RON ORDERS
MARGARET WILLIAMS
CINECONTACT PRODUCTIONS