One of the many films to play at this year’s Toronto International Film Festival wasThe Journeyfrom directorNick Hamm’s(The Hole,Killing Bono). Scripted byColin Bateman, the film is a dramatization of the events preceding the historic 2006 St. Andrews Agreement, which brought peace to Northern Ireland after years of violent strife between Unionist and Republican factions. In the movie, Hamm places the Democratic Unionist Party’sIan Paisley(Timothy Spall) and Sinn Féin’sMartinMcGuinness(Colm Meaney) on a short journey together and without aids where they’re forced to discuss their past actions and what they want for the future. Led by great performances from Spall and Meaney,The Journeysurprised me. For more on the film,read Matt’s review. The film also stars John Hurt, Toby Stephens, and Freddie Highmore.
Shortly after seeing the film I sat down with Nick Hamm and Colm Meaney for an exclusive video interview. They talked about being at TIFF, the background and story of the film, memorable moments from filming, the rehearsal process and the difficulty of the shoot, how Hamm handles the editing process and friends and family screenings, the way digital cameras have changed the way actors work, and a lot more. Check it out in the player above and below you can find a list of everything we talked about and the synopsis.
Nick Hamm and Colm Meaney:
Here’s the synopsis:
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 loyalist firebrand Ian Paisley and a former IRA Commander Martin McGuinness, 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.
