A documentary about an ex-British army intelligence officer in Northern Ireland during the Troubles will premiere in Harrogate next week.
The Man Who Knew Too Much is billed as an “in-depth look at the smoke and mirrors world of intelligence, psychological warfare and fake news through the eyes of a man who stood proudly at the centre of that world”.
Directed by Michael Oswald, It tells the story of Colin Wallace, who was a senior information officer in the British army.
Wallace worked in a psychological warfare and propaganda department in Northern Ireland called Information Policy. Its job was to spread fake news, scare people and smear politicians to divide and create conflict amongst communities.
After refusing to work in areas he believed undermined democracy he was accused of leaking classified documents and made to take voluntary redundancy.
He was later framed for murder and sentenced to 10 years in prison — although the sentence was quashed on appeal 15 years later after the Home Office coroner admitted his report had been influenced by a member of the intelligence community.
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Directed by Michael Oswald and run in association with Harrogate Film Festival, the film will be shown at the Odeon in Harrogate on May 27 at 7.30pm. Tickets are £5.
The film won Best Investigation and Reporting Documentary in the Harrogate Film Society Festival Features competition and online programme.
Harrogate Film Festival founder Adam Chandler said the premiere was “great news for the town”, adding:
“It’s fantastic that Harrogate Film Society and Harrogate Film Festival have managed to collaborate to bring this premiere to Harrogate.“It’s an intriguing documentary with bags of insight – I hope everyone enjoys it – it’s fantastic to be back in the cinema!”
The festival is usually a 10-day event but this year a series of mini-festivals between April and September are being held. This is one of the few events able to go ahead in person following the easing of restrictions.