The story of Hotpress is a unique and exciting one. Not just because it's about an Irish music magazine that has survived against the odds, but because of the characters involved - a family of sorts - who challenged the establishment, church and state at a time when it was unpopular yet exciting and adventurous to do so. This one hour documentary will chart the first five years of Hotpress which arguably was the most interesting and colourful in terms of the magazine's output and survival, starting with it's humble beginnings in Upper Mount Street where a handful of people worked around the clock to ensure that deadline after deadline was met, which of course it often wasn't! This period also coincided with a very interesting time in Irish history. It was a time of high inflation, soaring unemployment, mass emigration, endless strikes, a raging Northern conflict, Family Planning Law was in force, contraception was illegal, divorce banned and abortion was a criminal act. During this exciting period of challenge and change a group of maverick journalists, musicians, politicians, filmmakers and would-be novelists who wanted to tell a different story gravitated to Hotpress to make their point. As Hot Press approaches it's 35th anniversary and continues to move and shake with the times, this creative documentary tells the always fascinating, often mind-bending story of Ireland's equivalent to Rolling Stone magazine. Using an eclectic mix of interviewees, archive footage and photographs along with specially created and textured Super 8mm sequences to illustrate the important moments - sometimes momentous, often poignant and moving - along the way, this film will take us through the impossible, crazy, ecstatic and sometimes-hilarious times with a kick-ass soundtrack to underscore unfolding events.
