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19th April 2018
09:49pm BST
'Terminal' a film which outlines the day in the life of someone who has to leave the country in order to have an abortion will not be shown by RTÉ until the referendum is over.
In the film "a girl and a woman meet in an airport departure gate. Just before they board a plane to Manchester, we witness a private exchange as they share the different reasons that brought them to this moment, and the traumatic journey that awaits them."
The video opens with scenes of the young girl who is in the bath and looks upset and flips back and forth to the present day where she is stood in the terminal and seems to be waiting for a flight.
She meets a woman who is older than her and they are both heading on the same plane to Manchester which is delayed.
It is while they are waiting that they begin talking...
If the video is not playing for you in the article, you can find it here.
Although abortion is never explicitly referenced, a leaflet falls out of the young girl's bag, which says 'Terminating a pregnancy? Know The Facts'.
They talk about their different appointments, "this afternoon", "tomorrow morning" and confide in each other about the journey they are about to make and how they got to this point in time.
The film as won multiple awards:
And was also nominated for - Best Irish Short Film, Irish Film & Television Academy Awards, 2017 and London Critics' Circle Film Awards, 2017.
The sound designer who worked on the film took to Twitter to share her disappointment that the film wasn't going to be shown on RTÉ any time soon.
I was looking forward to reading the opinions of the likes of @UnaMullally & @fotoole about the beautiful sensitive @Terminal_Film_ when @rte broadcast it but sadly it's apparently too controversial at this time! Happily we free folk can view it here : https://t.co/wOIBX3u1HN
— Nikki Moss (@mosssound) April 9, 2018
Under the Broadcasting Act 2009, RTÉ are obligated to “be fair, objective and impartial on a subject of current public debate and controversy”.
