The Journey, starring Colm Meaney as Martin McGuinness, Timothy Spall as Ian Paisley, directed by Nick Hamm and written by Colin Bateman, will open in Irish cinemas on May 5th, 2017. Colm Meaney has been nominated for an IFTA award for his performance in the film, the awards take place this Saturday, April 8th.
The Journey is a dramatic comedy inspired by a major turning point in British and Irish history. The feature film focuses on the improbable friendship between two political titans. After 40 years of “the troubles” in Northern Ireland, the leading players meet at St. Andrews to try and hammer out a final and lasting peace agreement. The success of the talks depend on the Democratic Unionist Party’s Ian Paisley (Spall) and Sinn Féin’s Martin McGuinness (Meaney), two sworn enemies, agreeing to share power. With the talks in extreme crisis, the pair are forced by circumstance, or perhaps fate, to take a car journey together. After a series of initial bitter exchanges, their conversation begins to shift and cracks emerge in their armour. Watched by their colleagues back at St. Andrews the rivals not only discover that they are not that dissimilar but begin to forge a friendship.
The stellar cast includes Toby Stephens (Believe, The Machine, Severance), Freddie Highmore (The Golden Compass, The Spiderwick Chronicles) and the late John Hurt (Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy, Hercules, The Elephant Man) in one of his last roles. Nick Hamm (The Hole, Killing Bono) directs, from a script by Colin Bateman.
Financed through IM Global’s Acclaim division, in association with Lipsync Productions, Gorean Films and Northern Ireland Screen. Greenroom Entertainment and Tempo Productions, Nick Hamm, Mark Huffam (The Martian), and Piers Tempest (Like Minds) produce, along with Matt Jackson and IM Global Founder and CEO Stuart Ford.