Eclipse Pictures is releasing Barber in Irish cinemas next month, following the film’s world premiere at 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 IFTA-winning actor Aidan Gillen (Game of Thrones, Peaky Blinders, The Wire), Aisling Kearns (Fair City, Darklands), 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,” said actor Aiden Gillen. “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."
Speaking on the upcoming release, director Connolly commented: “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.”
Owen McPolin is director of photography, Robert Flanagan is sound mixer, Tracey O’Hanlon is production designer, Declan Sheridan is art director, Maureen Hughes and Barry Coyle are casting directors. Lesley McKimm is executive producer for Fís Éireann/Screen Ireland.
Barber releases in Irish cinemas on April 14th.