The first trailer for the Irish revenge thriller Spears has been unveiled ahead of the film's planned release in 2021.
Filmed in Ireland, London, Berlin and Florence, Spears tells the story of a private investigator (Nigel Brennan), a dissident Republican (Aidan O'Sullivan) and a con artist (Bobby Calloway) who team up "to take revenge on those who have wronged them".
Spears takes its title from the Emily Brontë quote: "Treachery and violence are spears pointed by both ends; they wound those who resort to them worse than their enemies."
The independent production is the second film from writer-director Gerard Lough, who made his debut with the 2015 horror Night People, and features music from Shaefri, Sleep Thieves, Le Groupe Fantastique and Exit: Pursued by a Bear.
Speaking to RTÉ Entertainment about the film's theme of revenge, Lough said: "I was keen to weave it into a story that would work as a cautionary tale that asks the audience that it may be natural to want to get your own back, but do two wrongs ever make a right?
"What's interesting is when the three protagonists decide to hit back at another group, the line between the good guys and bad guys becomes blurred very quickly and it's hard to tell them apart after a while. That's why I love the Neo-Noir genre; things are never simply black and white, moral ambiguity abounds... like real life."
Lough said that filming in four countries was "straightforward - if you have done your homework long before you set foot on a plane".
"With things like Google Earth, I could not only pick a location in advance, but also the camera angles," he explained.
"But I'd be lying if I said I didn't feel completely out of my depth on the first night in Florence, Italy. But I quickly pulled myself together when I remembered George Lucas felt the same way when he started shooting in Tunisia for the first time on the first Star Wars film. And I vividly remember that first night, when we first laid eyes on Piazza della Signoria - all lit up, just one of our filming locations. Despite the initial stress, we all knew this was going to be cool."
When asked about his plans for the film next year, Lough replied: "I think that is the question that will flummox every film director on Earth right now - whether it's a first-time director or James Cameron, it doesn't matter.
"The traditional distribution model, as we know, is currently turned upside down and in a constant state of flux. It's really a question for the distribution folks, who I'll be in talks with this week to see how they feel would be the best way to bring the film to audiences.
"I will say that I was lucky enough to have a brief cinema release for my first film, Night People, and can attest there is nothing like seeing your work on the big screen. Spears is a much bigger film, so my hope again would be that it is seen in a cinema in a safe fashion. Some films, like Tenet, were simply made for the cinema, and I'm certainly glad I saw it before the lockdown.... twice!"
