SCREENING AT THE CAMBRIDGE FILM FESTIVAL JULY 2007 AND SELECTED SCREENINGS IN LONDON THIS SUMMER
What the press say...
"...there's no denying that Amy Berg's documentary Deliver us from Evil is one of the most harrowing, powerful and moving pieces of work I'll see all year." ***** (5 stars) THE EVENING HERALD
"compelling" ***** (5 stars) THE STAR
"astonishing" **** (4 stars) THE IRISH TIMES
"Powerfully told... chilling... courageous" **** (4 stars) THE IRISH INDEPENDENT
"**** (4 stars) DUBLIN METRO
DELIVER US FROM EVIL is the story of Father Oliver O’Grady, the most notorious pedophile in the history of the modern Catholic Church. A remorseless, and compulsive, sexual predator, O’Grady used his charm and authority as a religious leader to exploit Catholic families and rape dozens of children across Northern California – both physically and spiritually – over the course of twenty years. His victims ranged from a nine month-old infant to the middle-aged mother of an adolescent victim.
Despite early warning signs and complaints from several parishes, the Church, in an elaborate shell game designed to avoid liability and deflect criticism, lied to parishioners and local law enforcement while continuing to move O’Grady from parish to parish. Yet internal Church documents prove that since 1973, O’Grady raped and sodomized with the full knowledge of his Catholic superiors.
Following O’Grady’s incarceration and deportation, DELIVER US FROM EVIL filmmaker Amy Berg contacted him and, remarkably, persuaded him to participate in the making of her film. Using his chilling testimony as a launching point, Berg exposes the high-level corruption within the Church while she tries to understand why child abuse within this institution, which still occurs today on a global scale, is so rampant.
Most importantly, Berg encourages several of O’Grady’s victims to finally speak out, shedding much-needed light on the horrifying legacy of sexual abuse. Capturing startlingly candid confessions that will break your heart, DELIVER US FROM EVIL charts these survivors’ continuing struggle to repair their lives, their broken families and their trust in the very institution that continues to betray them. Moving, infuriating and timely, DELIVER US FROM EVIL is the haunting story of those who were robbed of their faith…and who are now struggling to reclaim it.
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