Documentary recalls NI's glory during 1982 World Cup

Footage of the Northern Ireland football squad sending shockwaves through the 1982 World Cup will be on show in a new documentary created by Northern Ireland Screen’s  Digital  Film  Archive. To coincide with the 40th anniversary of Northern Ireland reaching the World Cup, YER MEN IN SPAIN will screen on Sunday December 11 at 7.30pm in the Odeon, Belfast.

The film is edited from over eight hours of footage of the late Billy Bingham’s squad featuring Gerry Armstrong, Pat Jennings, Martin O’Neill, Billy Hamilton and Norman Whiteside on and off the pitch. It features interviews and vox pops from fans in Spain and in pubs and venues across Northern Ireland captured by UTV. This includes footage never seen before.

Camera operators from UTV were granted access to all areas of the 1982 squad’s movements in Spain for the World Cup where Northern Ireland beat home country Spain and reached the quarter finals. They were also welcomed into the family home of Gerry Armstrong and caught fan reaction at home and abroad as the team defied expectations.

The team at Northern Ireland Screen’s  Digital  Film  Archive reviewed 21 cans of footage before assembling this fly-on-the-wall style feature-length documentary.

The documentary screening will be followed by a Q&A with footballers Gerry Armstrong and Billy Hamilton. Screened in partnership with the Belfast Film Festival, tickets are £5 each and can be purchased by visiting the Belfast Film Festival website.