‘Hail Mary’ screened at secret location
February 1986
A ban by Wexford Arts Centre did not prevent the scheduled screening of Jean-Luc Goddard’s controversial film ‘Hail Mary’ from going ahead on Tuesday night.
More than thirty people made their way to a secret address for the Wexford viewing of the modern-day version of the Immaculate Conception.
Fears that the film would not be shown in the town following the Arts Centre’s refusal to provide premises and the Legion of Mary’s call on people to protest were overcome when a supporter of Wexford Film Society offered his sitting room as a venue.
Ex-members of the Society, which disbanded in protest at the Arts Centre decision, were adamant that the screening should go ahead, and the film was acquired for a cost of £100 from the Film Society Federation in Dublin.
Many members were outraged that the Board of Wexford Arts Centre had given in to public objection to the film.
The banned film ‘Last Tango in Paris’ and the anti-religious film ‘The Life of Brian’ were shown at the centre during previous seasons, and no protest was raised.
The venue for Tuesday night’s ‘Hail Mary’ was kept a closely-guarded secret, however, and only trusted supporters were given information, for fear of pickets.
Elsewhere around the country, supporters of Pope John Paul II’s condemnation of the film have engaged in public protests wherever it has been shown.
But the Wexford viewing went ahead without incident in the end, though a little improvisation was needed.
A screen was placed on the sitting room wall, and a ticket collector waited at the front door to ensure that no-one gained entry without paying their £3 fee.
As the story of Mary, the basketball player who mysteriously finds herself pregnant, and her boyfriend Joseph, the taxi driver, unfolded on the screen – nude scenes and all – many in the audience were left wondering what all the fuss was about.
The comments afterwards ranged from ‘great’ to ‘interesting’ to ‘boring’, with the latter of those scoring most points on the reaction scale.