TESTIMONY: An Award-Winning Call for Justice and Accountability in Ireland

The powerful new documentary TESTIMONY has been awarded Best Documentary Feature at the Irish Film Festival London, marking the continuation of its multi-award-winning festival run. The film celebrated its UK premiere at the festival last week and will be released in UK and Irish cinemas from Friday, 21 November. Directed by award-winning filmmaker Aoife Kelleher (Mrs Robinson, One Million Dubliners), TESTIMONY follows an extraordinary group of women, supported by the activist organisation Justice for Magdalenes, whose fight to hold the Irish government accountable for abuses in the Magdalene Laundries, Mother and Baby Homes, and the forced separation of families takes them all the way to the United Nations. Ahead of its theatrical release, the film has already received critical acclaim.

In attendance at the Irish Film Festival London awards ceremony to accept the prize were survivor and film contributor Madeleine Marvier, alongside Jane Libberton, daughter of fellow survivor Philomena Lee. Reflecting on the significance of the win and their presence on stage, director Aoife Kelleher said: “It is very meaningful to have received this award in London, where so many survivors sought refuge from the abuse and trauma they had experienced in Ireland. I know that this award will mean so much to so many of them. Watching Madeleine Marvier, a survivor and contributor, and Jane Libberton, daughter of Philomena Lee, accept the award, and hearing the room fall silent as they spoke, was a very special moment, as the aim of this film has always been to help survivors to reclaim their voices.”

The multi-award-winning TESTIMONY captures the unwavering determination of the Justice for Magdalenes team as they work to hold the Irish government accountable for decades of institutional abuse. Through unflinching honesty, the film raises urgent questions about justice and accountability, serving both as a tribute to survivors’ resilience and a stark reminder of the cost of silence. The Magdalene Laundries, operated by religious orders with state complicity until the late 1990s, imprisoned and dehumanised women under the guise of “moral rehabilitation,” subjecting them to forced labour, physical and emotional abuse, and the lifelong stigma of being labelled “fallen.”

For many, the trauma continued in Mother and Baby Homes, where unwed mothers were coerced into surrendering their children for adoption. Countless separations were carried out in secrecy and without consent, and residents were subjected to horrifying practices, including vaccine trials and human trafficking. By centring the voices of survivors and advocates, TESTIMONY stands as a rallying cry and a call to action, urging society to confront its complicity, acknowledge the full extent of these abuses, and ensure they are never repeated.