The Mayor's Parade

Watch Anthony and Cleopatra make a triumphant entry in the Mayor’s Parade. What will impress the judges more, good behaviour or a good float?

Join a local class as they pluck up the courage to take part in this Derry parade. Check out the competition to decide if the children should be crowned best in show or see if you can spot a familiar face like Ivor Canavan, the first and only Mayor of Londonderry from the Alliance Party. Although in no way reflecting the ethos of the film maker, this parade does reflect the unfortunate presence of people in blackface makeup that appeared in local pageants during this period.

Terence McDonald (1926 – 2001) was a teacher, film historian, film collector and a pioneering amateur filmmaker from Derry. He made 35 films in his lifetime covering a wide range of themes such as mental health, travelling theatre, and portraits of his home town, Derry. His playful fiction films often pay homage to classic cinema moments from Peyton Place to Potemkin, from Chaplin to Jacques Tati. Terence McDonald undertook all aspects of production - filming, sound recording and editing and produced a body of remarkably sophisticated work. This film is courtesy of his son, Peter McDonald.