No Ordinary Heist is No Ordinary Film: Live at CIFF26 with Director Colin McIvor & Producer Ruth Carter
No Ordinary Heist had just finished rolling when Irish Stew cohosts Martin Nutty and John Lee took to the AFI Silver Theatre stage on the second night of the 2026 Solas Nua Capital Irish Film Festival in metro-Washington, DC. Before a near-capacity crowd of almost 400, the podcasters-in-residence led the post-screening Q&A on the gripping new Irish thriller inspired by the 2004 Northern Bank robbery in Belfast, still one of the largest bank robberies in British and Irish history, with £26.5 million in cash stolen.
On stage with John and Martin are the film's Belfast-raised director and co-writer Colin McIvor and Dublin-based producer Ruth Carter of Picture Locked Productions. The conversation explores the riveting human stories of the film set against the backdrop of a city emerging from The Troubles, the meticulous casting of Eddie Marsan and Éanna Hardwicke in leading roles alongside memorable Irish supporting talent, and the editorial choices that kept audiences white-knuckled throughout.
No Ordinary Heist had just finished rolling when Irish Stew cohosts Martin Nutty and John Lee took to the AFI Silver Theatre stage on the second night of the 2026 Solas Nua Capital Irish Film Festival in metro-Washington, DC. Before a near-capacity crowd of almost 400, the podcasters-in-residence led the post-screening Q&A on the gripping new Irish thriller inspired by the 2004 Northern Bank robbery in Belfast, still one of the largest bank robberies in British and Irish history, with £26.5 million in cash stolen.
On stage with John and Martin are the film's Belfast-raised director and co-writer Colin McIvor and Dublin-based producer Ruth Carter of Picture Locked Productions. The conversation explores the riveting human stories of the film set against the backdrop of a city emerging from The Troubles, the meticulous casting of Eddie Marsan and Éanna Hardwicke in leading roles alongside memorable Irish supporting talent, and the editorial choices that kept audiences white-knuckled throughout.
"The old cliche is that you create your heroes and then you trip them up every two minutes. Just what else can you do to screw it up for them," Colin says explaining the creative philosophy behind the film's tension.
The discussion broadens to explore the thriving all-island filmmaking ecosystem, with Ruth noting the increasingly seamless collaboration between Northern Ireland Screen and Screen Ireland saying, "We're really lucky in Ireland because we have such great support both in the South and in the North. They really go with an all-Ireland approach as much as they can."
Reflecting on how far Northern Ireland's film industry has come since 2004, Colin adds, "It's hard to believe that when I was a student coming through, that we would be where we are. We have got a place in the filmmaking industry now."
An engaging night of Irish cinema, covering everything from the craft of tension-building to the state of all-island filmmaking, all in this episode of Irish Stew.
With thanks to the Northern Ireland Bureau for their support of this screening and Q&A, Solas Nua and Festival Director Maedhbh Mc Cullagh for naming Irish Stew in the Capital Irish Film Festival Podcast-in-Residence and to John Collins for recording this episode.
Links
No Ordinary Heist
Colin McIvor
Ruth Carter
All Irish Stew Libations Episodes - Ten episodes. All in one place.
Irish Stew Links
- Episode Page: Fergus Carey
- Website Home Page
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- Media Partner: IrishCentral
Episode Details: Season 8, Episode 13; Total Episode Count: 154
00:00 - Introduction
02:35 - A New Christmas Film?
03:26 - Is No Ordinary Heist a Political Conflict Film?
09:31 - Cross Border Film Making
11:18 - Casting No Ordinary Heist
14:40 - Maintaining Tension in a Thriller
17:36 - The Evolution of Film Making in Northern Ireland
20:24 - John & Martin Recap
22:50 - Credits
Director of Capital Irish Film Festival
Maedhbh is a multidisciplinary cultural producer, arts programmer, and creative consultant from Ireland. For more than two decades she has been producing and managing artistic programs, presentations, productions, and special events for international festivals and cultural organizations, in Europe and the US, including appointments as the Associate Director of Irish Screen America, Managing Director of the contemporary interdisciplinary Abrons Arts Center, independent freelance producer at The Trailblazery, The Civilians Theater Company, Performance Space NY, The Foundry Theatre, the Alliance of Resident Theatres NY, Program Manager of the international Dublin Fringe Festival and Associate Producer of the award-winning Aurora Nova international program of physical theatre, dance and cross-disciplinary performance at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe.
Director / Writer
Colin McIvor is a Belfast-raised writer-director and a graduate of the University of Ulster, where he studied Visual Communications. He began his career directing award-winning short films, including Charlotte's Red, Black Taxi, and No Cigar. His debut feature, Cup Cake, starring Michelle Fairley and Clive Russell, won numerous international awards including Best Feature at the Rhode Island International Film Festival and the Audience Award at the Belfast Film Festival. His second feature, Zoo, starring Toby Jones and Dame Penelope Wilton, was released in US and UK cinemas and went on to win awards at the Seattle, Giffoni, Doha, and Castellinaria international film festivals. On the television side, he has directed numerous TV dramas, including the WW2 epic World on Fire for primetime BBC One. His third feature, No Ordinary Heist, inspired by the 2004 Northern Bank robbery in Belfast, stars Eddie Marsan and Éanna Hardwicke and marks McIvor's most ambitious project to date.
Producer
Ruth Carter Ruth Carter is a Dublin-based producer and founder of Picture Locked Productions, with offices in Dublin and London. Her recent credits include the psychological thriller Lies We Tell, the contemporary drama TWIG, and the comedy Damo & Ivor – The Movie, picked up by Netflix. Her latest film is No Ordinary Heist, produced alongside Damon Lane and Johanna Hogan, with funding from Screen Ireland, Northern Ireland Screen, and RTÉ. Earlier in her career she worked in development on Albert Nobbs, Byzantium, and Triage and has broad experience across drama, comedy, and animation in both film and television. She is an active participant in the European co-production landscape, having attended the Series Lab Hamburg in 2024 to develop new projects for Picture Locked's slate.
