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film · Wednesday 12 August 2026 · TBD 
Colin Bateman Season: The Journey
At The Court House · Bangor, Co. Down
At The Court House · Bangor, Co. Down
If you want to understand something about modern Northern Irish identity told through dark wit and political audacity, this screening is the place to be. Colin Bateman - Bangor’s own crime and comedy writer - introduces his screenplay for The Journey, a 2016 drama directed by Nick Hamm that imagines the very first private conversation between Ian Paisley and Martin McGuinness. It is a fictional account, but one grounded in place and period, and Bateman stays afterwards for a Q&A where the real talking begins. The combination of a sharp film, a familiar venue, and the chance to question the writer directly makes this a proper evening out rather than a passive cinema trip. Suits anyone curious about Irish politics, film-making, or the craft of adapting true-ish stories for the screen.
The Journey runs for 94 minutes and stars Timothy Spall as Ian Paisley and Colm Meaney as Martin McGuinness, with the late John Hurt in the cast. The film was shot largely in Northern Ireland - the Culloden Hotel and the Ards Peninsula among the locations - so the landscape on screen will feel familiar to many in the room. The production asks what might have been said between two men who spent their lives as adversaries, now forced to share a car. It is tense, often surprising, and the local settings give it an extra charge when watched close to home.
After the film, Colin Bateman takes questions from the audience. He is a much-loved figure in Bangor and at Open House Festival, which has made his screenwriting a recurring focus over the years. Expect conversation about the writing process, the politics of fictionalising real events, and how a Bangor lad ended up putting words in the mouths of two giants of Irish history. The event is held in the Court Room at The Court House - theatre-style seating, so it feels less like a multiplex and more like a proper occasion.
Tickets are priced at £8, all in.
The Court House sits on Quay Street right on Bangor seafront, a short walk from the train station. Bangor is well served by rail from Belfast - the journey takes around 30 minutes on the Belfast to Bangor line, and trains run frequently. By road, the A2 from Belfast is the direct route; the journey is roughly 15 miles. Street parking is available in the town centre, and there are car parks a short walk from the venue. The seafront location is easy to find once you are in Bangor.
Bangor has a working seafront, a marina, and a town centre that has been rebuilding its confidence in recent years - the transformation of The Court House from derelict magistrates court to a packed arts venue is part of that story. An evening screening is a good reason to arrive early and have something to eat near the water. There is more to see in Bangor and across Co. Down.
Heading to The Court House in Bangor? Down has plenty more to see. Read the Bangor area guide, find what else is on, and explore the towns and villages nearby.