Irish Film on Halloween Available Online

A bi-lingual film about the origins of Halloween has won     Best Short Documentary Award at the Underground Film Festival in Cork, Ireland last week-end.

http://www.undergroundshortfilmfestival.com/#!official-selection-2015/c3kj

The festival screened 122  films in 15 categories, with entries from 35 countries.   The film, Spiorad na Samhna — Spirit of Samhain— can be viewed at:  https://vimeo.com/101398600

Ed Pawson, Chair, NATRE, National Association of Teachers of Religious Education, has described it as “an exciting resource to widen our understanding of the diversity and origins of religion, beliefs and  customs today”.

The film traces origins of Ireland’s biggest Halloween Carnival in Derry back to troubled years of 1980s. It also traces origins of Halloween itself to the Celtic festival of Samhain. Dr. Jenny Butler from the Folklore Department of University College, Cork narrates.