Acclaimed actors Colm Meaney and Timothy Spall are set to attend tomorrow night’s Irish/UK premiere of The Journey in Belfast ahead of the film’s release in cinemas this Friday 5th May. The film’s director Nick Hamm will also be in attendance and the three will take part in a post-screening Q&A.
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 depends 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.
Meaney who picked up the Best Actor IFTA last month for his portrayal of McGuinness in the film is joined by a stellar cast including 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.
The premiere of The Journey is presented by the Belfast Film Festival will take place in Movie House Cinema Dublin Road, Thursday 4th May. Due to popular demand, two screenings will take place at 6pm and 7pm.
Tickets can be purchased through the Belfast Film Festival website https://belfastfilmfestival.org/films/the-journey