Fairytale of Kathmandu

Fairytale of Kathmandu

Infobox Film
name = Fairytale of Kathmandu


image_size =
caption =
director = Neasa Ní Chianáin
producer = David Rane
narrator = Neasa Ní Chianáin
music = Arnaud Ruest
cinematography = Tristan Monbureau
editing = Úna Ní Dhongháile Declan McGrath
distributor =
released = 21 November 2007
runtime = 60 minutes
country = Ireland
Nepal
language = English
Irish
budget =
gross =
website = http://www.fairytaleofkathmandu.com/
amg_id =
imdb_id =

Fairytale of Kathmandu is a documentary made by Neasa Ní Chianáin.

The documentary focused on visits by the poet Cathal Ó Searcaigh to Nepal during which he had sexual relationships with young men of 16 years old or older. According to Liam Gaskin, these relationships did not involve sodomy.cite news |title=Greek philosophy is clouding debate about O Searcaigh |url=http://www.independent.ie/opinion/analysis/greek-philosophy-is--clouding-debate-about-o-searcaigh-1325331.html |publisher=Sunday Independent |date=2008-03-23 |accessdate=2008-03-28 ]

Liam Gaskin has since stood down as Cathal Ó Searcaigh's public spokesman as a result of a DVD launched to defend Cathal Ó Searcaigh - one of the people interviewed to support the poet turned out not to be one of those in the documentary, but someone with the same first name [ [http://bonhom.ie/2008/03/the-young-men-of-kathmandu-speak-for-themselves.html "The young men of Kathmandu speak for themselves " - Update] ] .

Legality

The age of consent in Nepal is sixteen, thus no local law was violated.Fact|date=April 2008 Given that age of consent in Ireland is 17 years old, [cite web
url=http://www.irishstatutebook.ie/1996/en/act/pub/0038/sec0001.html#zza38y1996s1
title=Sexual Offences (Jurisdiction) Act, 1996 - Definition of 'Child';
author=Dáil Éireann
publisher=Irish Statue Book
] and the the Irish government can prosecute for foreign acts, [cite web
url=http://www.irishstatutebook.ie/1996/en/act/pub/0038/sec0002.html#zza38y1996s2
title=Sexual Offences (Jurisdiction) Act, 1996 - Sexual offences committed outside State.
author=Dáil Éireann
publisher=Irish Statue Book
] the film caused considerable controversy in the Republic of Ireland.Fact|date=April 2008

Following complaints by Fiona Neary of the Rape Crisis Network it has emerged that the Irish police force have been investigating Ó Searcaigh since 2006 following complaints from the film's director. [cite web
url=http://www.independent.ie/national-news/boys-were-damaged-by-sex-trysts-with-poet-1286378.html
title=Boys were 'damaged' by sex trysts with poet, 10/2/08
author=MAEVE SHEEHAN
publisher=Irish Independent
]

Interpol has also been given access to footage from the documentary [ [http://www.independent.ie/national-news/interpol-given-access-to-film-of-o-searcaigh-youths-1319560.html "Interpol given access to film of O Searcaigh youths ", Irish Independent] ] .

howings of the documentary

The documentary has been shown at several documentary film festivals including the International Documentary Festival in Amsterdam (its first showing) and the Jameson Dublin International Film Festival where it had its first showing in Ireland in February 2008. The documentary was shown on Irish television on the evening of March 11, 2008. According to RTÉ, the show attracted 253,000 viewers. The documentary has been selected for its North American premiere at Seattle International Film Festival and its UK premiere at Edinburgh International Festival, both in June 2008. The film was awarded second place in the International Documentary Competition at Documenta Madrid in May 2008. [cite web|url=http://www.independent.ie/national-news/revealed-how-poet-set-up-charity-fund-1315024.html|title=Revealed:How Poet set up charity fund|publisher=Irish Independent.ie|accessdate=2008-03-13]

Criticism of Ó Searcaigh

Ó Searcaigh was criticised by many journalists and commentators who believed that his behaviour was unethical and possibly criminal. He was also criticised by callers to the RTÉ "Liveline" programme, hosted by Joe Duffy.

Ireland's Minister for Education and Science, Mary Hanafin's initial reaction was that "there are 'difficulties' with the inclusion of poems by Cathal Ó Searcaigh on the Leaving Certificate curriculum." [http://www.rte.ie/news/2008/0220/osearcaigh.html "Ó Searcaigh poems may be taken off curriculum"] Although she later noted that the lives of many authors of works on the curriculum were questionable.Fact|date=March 2008

Defense of Ó Searcaigh

He was defended on multiple occasions by Senator Eoghan Harris, who pointed out that the age of consent in Nepal is 16 and that Nepal is a homophobic society. Harris contends that many of Ó Searcaigh's Nepalese accusers may have their own agendas. [cite web|url=http://www.independent.ie/opinion/columnists/eoghan-harris/fairytale-ending-so-sad-and-predictable-1286282.html|title=Fairytale ending so sad and predictable|publisher=Irish Independent|accessdate=2008-03-13]

The poet has also been defended by Máire Mhac an tSaoi, who has accused Ní Chianáin of unethical behavior. She questions whether the film-maker ever informed Ó Searcaigh of the fact that she was no longer filming as a friend but as an antagonist. Mhac an tSaoi also pointed to the two-year delay between the filming and the release of the film and ensuing publicity, suggesting that Ní Chianáin was more interested in publicizing her work than in protecting Nepalese young men. Defenders of Ní Chianáin, on the other hand, have noted that she brought her concerns to the attention of the Irish police upon her return from Nepal in 2006.

Ó Searcaigh was also defended by Eamon Delaney.

References

External links

* [http://www.fairytaleofkathmandu.com/ Official site of documentary film]


Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Поможем сделать НИР

Look at other dictionaries:

  • David Norris (politician) — David Norris Senator …   Wikipedia

  • Cathal Ó Searcaigh — Infobox Writer name = Cathal Ó Searcaigh awards = birthname = birthdate = birth date|1956|7|12|mf=y birthplace = Gort an Choirce, Donegal, Ireland deathdate = deathplace = occupation = PoetCathal Ó Searcaigh (IPAga|ˈkahəlˠ ɔ ˈʃaɾˠki; born 1956)… …   Wikipedia

  • Aosdána — (IPA2|iːs ˈdɑːnə; from aos dána , Irish people of the arts ) is an association of people in Ireland who have achieved distinction in the arts. It was created in 1981 on the initiative of a group of writers and with support from the Arts Council… …   Wikipedia

  • List of documentary films — This is a list of documentary films, arranged in alphabetical order. The year of release and directors of the films are listed in parentheses.CompactTOC8 !$@=no side=yes center=yes right=yes align=center nobreak=yes top=yes num=yes sym=yes symnum …   Wikipedia

  • Cathal O Searcaigh — Cathal Ó Searcaigh Cathal Ó Searcaigh (* 1956 in Gort an Choirce, County Donegal) ist ein irischer Schriftsteller, Dichter und Dramatiker, der in irischer Sprache schreibt. Inhaltsverzeichnis …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Cathal Ó Searcaigh — (* 1956 in Gort an Choirce, County Donegal) ist ein irischer Schriftsteller, Dichter und Dramatiker, der in irischer Sprache schreibt. Inhaltsverzeichnis …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Ó Searcaigh — Cathal Ó Searcaigh Cathal Ó Searcaigh (* 1956 in Gort an Choirce, County Donegal) ist ein irischer Schriftsteller, Dichter und Dramatiker, der in irischer Sprache schreibt. Inhaltsverzeichnis …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Mai 2009 — Portal Geschichte | Portal Biografien | Aktuelle Ereignisse | Jahreskalender ◄ | 20. Jahrhundert | 21. Jahrhundert     ◄ | 1970er | 1980er | 1990er | 2000er | 2010er       ◄ | 2005 | 2006 | 2007 | 2008 | 2009 | 2010 |… …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Waldorf education — (also known as Steiner or Steiner Waldorf education) is a pedagogy based upon the educational philosophy of Rudolf Steiner, the founder of anthroposophy. Learning is interdisciplinary, integrates practical, artistic, and intellectual… …   Wikipedia

  • Cults and new religious movements in literature and popular culture — New religious movements and cults can appear as themes or subjects in literature and popular culture, while notable representatives of such groups have produced, for their own part, a large body of literary works. Contents 1 Terminology 2… …   Wikipedia

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”