In this Film Ireland Podcast, we’re delighted to be chatting with Colin McIvor, director and co-writer of No Ordinary Heist as the film arrives in cinemas across Ireland and the UK.

Inspired by true events in Belfast in December 2004, No Ordinary Heist tells a gripping fictional story of two bank employees forced into a chilling scheme, orchestrating a £26.5 million robbery to save their families’ lives, while those behind it never set foot inside the bank. Taut, claustrophobic and immersive, the film stars Eddie Marsan, Éanna Hardwicke, Eva Birthistle and Michelle Fairley.

We chat with the Colin about working across television and commercials, the importance of creative collaboration, and how he built tension and atmosphere in this high-stakes, emotionally driven story.

This podcast has been made possible with the support of Screen Ireland’s Stakeholder’s Scheme.

The film was produced by Ruth Carter, Damon Lane and Johanna Hogan for Picture Locked Productions and Next Wednesday Films with funding from Fís Éireann/Screen Ireland, Northern Ireland Screen, RTÉ, Epic Pictures Group and Wildcard.

The film is released theatrically in Ireland and the UK from Friday 27th March and will come to Sky Cinema as a Sky Original later in the year.

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Colin McIvor

No Ordinary Heist marks Colin's third feature film, based on the remarkable £26.5m Northern Bank Robbery, and stars Eddie Marsan and Éanna Hardwicke. Its world premiere took place at Santa Barbara International Film Festival 2026, from which it went on to make its Irish premiere at Dublin IFF, followed by its UK premiere at the Glasgow IFF. It is due for theatrical release in theatres across the US, UK and Ireland in March 2026.

Previously, Colin wrote and directed a number of award-winning short films. His debut feature film, Cup Cake, starring Michelle Fairley (Game of Thrones) and Clive Russell (Game of Thrones), won numerous international awards, including Best Feature at Rhode Island International Film Festival and the Audience Award at Belfast Film Festival.

His second feature, Zoo, as writer/director, starring Toby Jones (The Hunger Games) and Dame Penelope Wilton (Downton Abbey), was released in US (Samuel Goldwyn) and UK (eOne) cinemas to great critical acclaim. Zoo went on to win its category at Seattle International Film Festival, Giffoni Film Festival, Filemon Int. Film Festival, Castellinaria Int. Film Festival and Doha Int. Film Festival. He has also directed numerous TV dramas, including, recently, the WW2 epic World on Fire (2023) for primetime BBC One.

Over the years, the podcast has featured acclaimed guests such as Phyllida Lloyd, Lenny Abrahamson, M. Night Shyamalan, John Boorman, Saoirse Ronan, Colin Farrell, Aisha Tyler, Colm Meaney, Paul Reiser, Niamh Algar, David Freyne, Ciarán Donnelly, Joshua Oppenheimer, John Crowley, Niamh Algar, Gene Stupnitsky, and Terence Davies, alongside many of the most influential voices working in film and television today.

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