An Irish filmmaker says his award-winning short film about a mob targeting an immigrant over unproven sexual assault claims has been mirrored by real events since it was made, and he now wants to tour it around schools to counter far-right online influence. Alan Hopkins's film "A Knock At Your Door," which won an award at the Galway Film Fleadh, depicts a Dublin couple sheltering a bloodied immigrant teenager as a mob, whipped up by online accusations, closes in on their home. Hopkins says the parallels with recent real-life incidents in Ireland are "shocking," particularly as hate crime legislation remains absent from the statute books despite a rise in racially motivated attacks.

Hopkins cited the June attack on three immigrant men in Dublin's Poppintree Park, filmed by their attacker who wrongly accused them of loitering, when in fact they were walking home from a charity park run; he noted that anti-immigrant influencers who spread the false claim rarely issue corrections once the truth emerges. He also referenced the killing of Croatian man Josip Štrok in Clondalkin two years ago, in a racially motivated attack in which he was followed home and assaulted. Hopkins, who teaches filmmaking at St Andrew's Resource Centre in Dublin, said a test screening for teenagers sparked strong debate, and he hopes taking the film to schools can reach young people who are sometimes recruited by older figures to carry out violence.