''Conspiracy of Silence'' is a British drama film set in

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

and inspired by real events. The film challenges

celibacy Celibacy (from Latin ''caelibatus'') is the state of voluntarily being unmarried, sexually abstinent, or both, usually for religious reasons. It is often in association with the role of a religious official or devotee. In its narrow sense, the ...

and its implication for the

Catholic Church The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

in the 21st century. Written and directed by

John Deery John Deery is a British award-winning film and television drama director. Early life Deery was born in Birkenhead, Merseyside, across the river Mersey from Liverpool. Like many other directors, he started out as an actor, training at The Dram ...

, the cast includes: Academy Award-winner

Brenda Fricker Brenda Fricker (born 17 February 1945) is an Irish actress, whose career has spanned six decades on stage and screen. She has appeared in more than 30 films and television roles. In 1990, she became the first Irish actress to win an Academy Awar ...

Hugh Bonneville Hugh Richard Bonneville Williams (born 10 November 1963) is an English actor. He is best known for portraying Robert Crawley, Earl of Grantham, in the ITV historical drama series ''Downton Abbey''. His performance on the show earned him a nom ...

Chris O'Dowd Christopher O'Dowd (born 9 October 1979) is an Irish actor and comedian. He received wide attention as Roy Trenneman, one of the lead characters in the Channel 4 comedy '' The IT Crowd'', which ran for four series between 2006 and 2010. He has ...

, John Lynch,

Jonathan Forbes Jonathan Forbes (born 4 December 1976 in Dublin) is an Irish actor. Early life Forbes was born in Dublin, Ireland on 4 December 1976. He attended Gonzaga College where he was in the same class as fellow actor Andrew Scott, before studying En ...

Jason Barry Jason Barry (born 14 December 1972) is an Irish actor best known for his portrayal of Tommy Ryan in the 1997 film '' Titanic''. He also starred in '' The Still Life'' for which he won numerous awards. Early life Jason Barry was born in Artane ...

Sean McGinley Sean, also spelled Seán or Séan in Irish English, is a male given name of Irish origin. It comes from the Irish versions of the Biblical Hebrew name ''Yohanan'' (), Seán (anglicized as ''Shaun/ Shawn/ Shon'') and Séan (Ulster variant; angli ...

Fintan McKeown Fintan McKeown is an Irish actor best known for his guest appearances on '' Star Trek: Voyager'', '' Merlin'', and '' Game of Thrones'', and for his supporting roles in the films '' Immortal Beloved'' (1994) and ''Waking Ned Devine'' (1998). Si ...

, Jim Norton and

Hugh Quarshie Hugh Anthony Quarshie (born 22 December 1954) is a Ghanaian-born British actor. Some of his best-known roles include his appearances in the films '' Highlander'' (1986), '' The Church'' (1989), '' Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace'' ...

. The movie won many international awards including the U.S.

National Board of Review The National Board of Review of Motion Pictures is a non-profit organization of New York City area film enthusiasts. Its awards, which are announced in early December, are considered an early harbinger of the film awards season that culminat ...

of Motion Pictures' Freedom of Expression Award in 2004, which it shared with Michael Moore's ''

Fahrenheit 9/11 ''Fahrenheit 9/11'' is a 2004 American documentary film directed, written by, and starring filmmaker, director, political commentator and activist Michael Moore. The film takes a liberal, critical look at the presidency of George W. Bush, the w ...

'' and Mel Gibson's ''

The Passion of the Christ ''The Passion of the Christ'' is a 2004 American epic biblical drama film produced, directed and co-written by Mel Gibson and starring Jim Caviezel as Jesus of Nazareth, Maia Morgenstern as Mary, mother of Jesus, and Monica Bellucci as Mary M ...

''. Deery was also nominated for Best Film Director at the

Irish Film Awards Irish may refer to: Common meanings * Someone or something of, from, or related to: ** Ireland, an island situated off the north-western coast of continental Europe ***Éire, Irish language name for the isle ** Northern Ireland, a constituent unit ...

in 2003. The screenplay was developed at the

Sundance Screenwriters' Lab Sundance Institute is a non-profit organization founded by Robert Redford committed to the growth of independent artists. The institute is driven by its programs that discover and support independent filmmakers, theatre artists and composers fr ...

in Utah and won the Hartley-Merrill International Screenwriting Award presented to Deery at the

Cannes Film Festival The Cannes Festival (; french: link=no, Festival de Cannes), until 2003 called the International Film Festival (') and known in English as the Cannes Film Festival, is an annual film festival held in Cannes, France, which previews new films o ...

in 2001. The film was invited to be shown at many

film festival A film festival is an organized, extended presentation of films in one or more cinemas or screening venues, usually in a single city or region. Increasingly, film festivals show some films outdoors. Films may be of recent date and, depending upon ...

s in 2003 to be in Competition and/or Official Selection including: Taormina, Italy (first public screening, June 2003),

Moscow International Film Festival The Moscow International Film Festival (russian: Моско́вский междунаро́дный кинофестива́ль, translit. ''Moskóvskiy myezhdunaródniy kinofyestivál''; abbreviated as MIFF) is the film festival first h ...

, Opening Night film at the Galway Film Festival, Ireland, Montreal Film Festival, Hamburg Film Festival, Warsaw Film Festival where it won a Special Jury Award,

Dinard Festival of British Cinema Dinard (; br, Dinarzh, ; Gallo: ''Dinard'') is a commune in the Ille-et-Vilaine department, Brittany, northwestern France. Dinard is on the Côte d'Émeraude of Brittany. Its beaches and mild climate make it a holiday destination, and this ...

, France, and the American Film Institute (AFI) Festival in Los Angeles. It received an art house release in the United States but, so far, has not been released in the UK.

Plot

Father Sweeney ( Patrick Casey), a gay Catholic priest living with HIV, commits suicide. His death leads local investigative journalist David Foley (

) to write a story that publicly identifies Sweeney as having HIV. At the local seminary, two students near ordination are expelled because one, Daniel (

Jonathon Forbes Jonathon is a given name. It is an often used alternative spelling of "Jonathan", as is "Johnathan". Notable people named Jonathon include: *Jonathon Brandmeier (born 1956), a Chicago radio personality and musician *Jonathon Morris (born 1960), Eng ...

) was seen leaving the room of the other, Niall (

Paudge Behan Paudge Rodger Behan (in Italian). ( ; born 18 January 1965) is an Irish actor and writer. The son of IRA Chief of Staff Cathal Goulding and Beatrice ffrench-Salkeld, the widow of playwright Brendan Behan, Paudge Behan worked briefly as a journ ...

). Niall is gay and Daniel is straight and they engaged in no sexual activity but were still expelled for the sake of appearances. Daniel returns home, where he is torn between his calling to the priesthood and his love for his ex-girlfriend Sinead ( Catherine Walker). Daniel meets with Foley, who writes a follow-up article exposing a covered-up AIDS protest that Sweeney had staged at the Vatican three years earlier and Daniel's dismissal. He also alleges that cardinals close to the Pope are engaged in sexual relationships and calls on the Church to re-examine its celibacy requirement for priests. The local bishop, Michael Quinn ( Jim Norton), pressures the editor of the local paper not to run the second story. The editor acquiesces but after reading the story sends it to the ''

Irish Times ''The Irish Times'' is an Irish daily broadsheet newspaper and online digital publication. It launched on 29 March 1859. The editor is Ruadhán Mac Cormaic. It is published every day except Sundays. ''The Irish Times'' is considered a newspaper ...

'', which prints it. The next day the bishop, his aide, Foley and Daniel appear together in a live television debate. Before the broadcast, agents of the Church threaten to harm Foley's family unless he retracts his story on the air. Bishop Quinn offers to reinstate Daniel if Daniel is willing to admit he has been wrong. On-air Foley capitulates but Daniel does not, asking the bishop if he himself practices celibacy. When the bishop refuses to answer, Father Sweeney's partner, former priest Matthew Francis ( John Lynch) confronts Quinn with Sweeney's suicide note in which Sweeney discloses that Quinn and he had had an affair. At film's end, Daniel is back at home with Sinead.

Cast

... Daniel McLaughlin *

... Fr. Jack Dowling *

... Annie McLaughlin *

Seán McGinley Seán McGinley (born c. 1956) is an Irish actor. He has appeared in about 80 films and television series. Early life McGinley was born in Pettigo, County Donegal, in Ulster, Ireland, where his father was a customs officer, and raised in near ...

... Fr. Rector Cathal *

... Fr. Joseph Ennis, S.J. *

... David Foley *

... Niall *

Sean Boru Sean Boru (born Desmond Patrick Bruen; 20 March 1953, in Dublin, Ireland – 14 February 2011, in Essex, United Kingdom) was an Irish actor and author. Career In 2005 Boru wrote a stage show called ''And over here on the left'' which is a one-man ...

... Father Murphy *Olivia Caffrey ... Liz Foley *Tommy Carey ... Sean *Padraig O'Loinsigh (as Patrick Lynch) ... Fr. Frank Sweeney *

Carmel Cryan Carmel Cryan (born 8 July 1949) is an English Actor, actress, known for the role of Brenda Boyle in the BBC soap opera ''EastEnders''. She was the wife of the actor Roy Kinnear (1934–1988). Life and career Cryan was born in London. She was marr ...

... Mrs. McDermott *

Catherine Cusack Catherine Cusack (born 21 December 1968) is a British actress. She is best known for portraying Nanny Carmel Finnan in the long-running ITV soap opera ''Coronation Street'' in 1992 and 1993. Early life and career Cusack was born on 21 Decemb ...

... Mary McLaughlin *

Patrick Doyle Patrick Doyle (born 6 April 1953) is a Scottish film composer with Irish heritage. A longtime collaborator of actor-director Kenneth Branagh, Doyle is known for his work composing for films such as ''Henry V'', ''Sense and Sensibility'', ''Hamle ...

... Senior Umpire #1 * Patrick Duggan ... Micky *Christopher Dunne ... Fr. Martin Hennessy *Jim Dunne ... Senior Umpire #2 * James Ellis ... Jim O'Brien *Anna Rose Fullen ... Martha *Jim Howlin ... Team Manager * Jason Kavanagh ... Liam * Sinead Keenan ... Majella * John Lynch ... Fr. Matthew Francis *

Edward MacLiam Edward MacLiam (born Edward Wilson in 1976) is an Irish actor, known for his roles as Greg Douglas in the BBC medical drama ''Holby City'' and identical twins Adam and Gareth Regan in the BBC soap opera ''Doctors Doctor or The Doctor may re ...

... Fitzpatrick *

Owen McDonnell Owen McDonnell (born 1974) is an Irish actor best known for playing Garda Sergeant Jack Driscoll in RTÉ Television's '' Single-Handed'' and Niko Polastri in BBC's ''Killing Eve''. Early life McDonnell was born in Galway in Ireland. He attend ...

... Noel *

... Monsignor Thomas * Kevin McMahon ... Donal *Brendan McNamara ... Declan *Justine Mitchell ... Assistant Floor Manager *Ciaran Murtagh ... Michael * Jim Norton ... Bishop Michael Quinn * Niall O'Brien ... John *

... James *Aidan O'Hara ... Paul *Lillian Patton ... Molly * Sid Rainey ... Joe *Phil Roache ... Supporter *Fergal Spelman ... TV Director * Elaine Symons ... Marie *

Harry Towb Harry Towb (27 July 1925 – 24 July 2009) was an actor from Northern Ireland. Early life and career Towb was born in Larne, County Antrim, to a History of the Jews in Russia, Russian-Jewish father and an History of the Jews in Ireland, Irish- ...

... Father Doherty * Catherine Walker ... Sinead *Nuala Walsh ... Mrs. McGlynn

Release

The film got a limited US theatrical release in December 2004, following its festival screenings.

2014 re-release

The film was re-launched at the

Berlin International Film Festival The Berlin International Film Festival (german: Internationale Filmfestspiele Berlin), usually called the Berlinale (), is a major international film festival held annually in Berlin, Germany. Founded in 1951 and originally run in June, the festi ...

in February 2014 by a new US boutique sales company, Angel Grace Productions, headed by Michael Fister.

Reception

Critical repsonse

Awards and nominations

References

External links

*
Official website - Angel Grace Productions
* * {{Rotten Tomatoes, conspiracy_of_silence 2003 films 2003 drama films 2003 independent films English-language Irish films British independent films Irish independent films Films critical of the Catholic Church British LGBT-related films Irish LGBT-related films Films about LGBT and Christianity HIV/AIDS in British films 2000s English-language films 2000s British films