DELIVER US FROM EVIL

Delving beneath a church cover-up far more insidious than that depicted in Dan Brown's fanciful Da Vinci Code, Amy Berg tells of the long-standing conspiracy within the Catholic Church to protect known child abusers in its ranks.

The centrepiece of Deliver Us From Evil is the astoundingly frank confession of Oliver O'Grady, the most notorious paedophile priest in the modern history of the Catholic Church. As O'Grady (and the testimony of many of his victims) details a history of child abuse spanning decades, Berg contrasts the former priest's openness with the deliberate cover-up of the abuse.

Tracing the line of conspiracy into the distant past, Berg turns to medieval historian Thomas Doyle in order to outline the historical forces that shaped a church culture in which the ordained have existed beyond the accountability of the secular world.

Laying bare the machinations of a PR-sensitive religious organisation, Berg carefully exposes the shocking truths that lie within the Vatican's corridors of power. Musical collaborators include Mick Harvey, Nick Cave and Warren Ellis.

Director Amy Berg is a guest of the festival, and will take part in a Q&A following the 7pm screening on Thursday 28 July at ACMI.

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Amy Berg was born in California, USA, in 1968. Deliver Us from Evil is her feature film directing debut.