Internationally renowned actor, Stephen Rea narrates the life story of Fr. Des Wilson, who was affectionately known to many as “the people’s priest”. Stephen Rea is a great advocate of Fr. Des and has been involved in a number of his community theatre productions over the years.

“An insightful biopic of a great humanitarian and an important document of recent history.” — WF

Fr. Des, a priest with a socialist and humanitarian outlook, spent his life helping those in need as the British Empire’s hold on Northern Ireland began to unravel from 1969 onwards. Amid civil strife, he followed the path of Jesus in caring for the downtrodden, and for a long period was ostracized by the hierarchy of his own Church for doing this. Courageously though, he continued to work for justice and against inequality until the end of his life in November 2019. An extraordinary man in extraordinary circumstances.
The film’s narrative is primarily recounted in Des’ own words, but has other contributions from massively important people in Des’ life who feature in the documentary through archive footage.

World Premiere

Followed by Q&A with director, Vincent Kinnaird and guests.

Director: Vincent Kinnaird
Producers: Jonny Farrelly, Trevor Birney, Michelle Devlin, Sarah Reddin & Kate Southwell
Cast: Fr. Des Wilson, Stephen Rea, Bernadette Devlin, Eilish Rooney, Rev. Brian Smeaton & Lelia Doolan