Eclipse Pictures has announced the release of Barber in Irish cinemas on 14 April, following the recent world premiere screening at 2023 Dublin International Film Festival.
Co-written and directed by Fintan Connolly and written and produced by Fiona Bergin, the film-making team behind Fubar Films (Trouble With Sex, Flick), Barber stars award-winning actor Aidan Gillen (Game of Thrones, Peaky Blinders, The Wire), debut rising star Aisling Kearns, Gary Lydon (The Banshees of Inisherin, The Guard), Helen Behan (Wildfire, The Virtues, Wolf), Deirdre Donnelly (Vikings: Valhalla, Harry Wild, Rialto), Liam Carney (Calm with Horses), and Camille O’Sullivan along with Irma Mali, Nick Dunning and Steve Wall.
Val Barber, a private investigator, is hired by a wealthy widow to find her missing granddaughter Sara. As initial investigations into her disappearance begin to darken, secrets surface in unexpected ways. Before too long, Barber finds himself entangled with powerful men of shady morals determined to thwart his investigations. Has he bitten off more than he can chew?
The excitement of shooting Barber on and off the streets of Dublin after being locked down for months was immense. Great to get back to doing what you do (safely of course) with other actors and filmmakers who are of a similar mind was a total buzz. Also capturing the feeling and look and particular energy there is on the streets right now was an opportunity I’m glad we took. I’m not sure how many modern Dublin noirs there are, but it was unvisited territory for me at least.
Aidan Gillen
It’s good to be picked up by Eclipse Pictures and have the film screened around the country. It was a pleasure to work with Aidan Gillen again, we don’t get to do it half enough. Cinemagoers will see a different side to Aidan as Val Barber and shooting in Dublin is always cool. It’s a great location. We shot everything within a 3-mile radius of O’Connell Bridge and now the goal is to get people into the cinema and multiplexes to see it on the big screen.
Fintan Connolly, Director
Fintan Connolly made his feature debut with Flick, followed by Trouble With Sex and the award-winning children’s drama Eliot & Me. This is the fourth time Connolly has collaborated with producer Fiona Bergin and he reunites with Aidan Gillen for the second time.
Fubar Films produced Barber with funding from Fís Éireann/Screen Ireland and RTÉ. The film is produced by Fiona Bergin and executive produced by Lesley McKimm for Screen Ireland. The film brings together a host of Irish actors including Aisling Kearns, Gary Lydon, Helen Behan, Deirdre Donnelly, Liam Carney, Camille O’Sullivan, David Herlihy, Ruaidhri Conroy, Irma Mali, Nick Dunning, Steve Wall, Simone Collins, Mark O’Regan, Gerard Mannix Flynn, Lia Schaffer, Aaron Edo, Desmond Eastwood, Dan Monaghan, Isabelle Connolly, Jimmy Smallhorne, Vincent McCabe, Ailbhe Cowley and Mark Lawrence.
Owen McPolin is director of photography, Robert Flanagan is sound mixer, Tracey O’Hanlon is production designer, Nicolas De Toth is editor, Forrest Gray is composer, Maureen Hughes is casting director.
Eclipse Pictures will distribute Barber in Ireland on 14 April. XYZ Films is handling sales for North America.
