Liam Neeson has lent his voice to extol the beauty of his native Ireland in the first-look trailer of MacGillivray Freeman‘s upcoming travel documentary, Ireland.
The trailer opens up with Neeson’s narration describing the natural beauty of his home country, with sweeping vistas of the green and rugged Ireland coastline and countryside before switching to a town and introducing the cast that will take viewers on a trip through the island country, led by Machan Magan, an Irish writer, and violinist Patricia Treacey, along with four Irish teens, the travel group will drive across the country in search of adventure. According to the trailer, Magan’s quest across Ireland is meant for him and his travel companions to help Irish people living abroad to reconnect with their heritage, and show a side of Ireland others may not have seen before.
In speaking with the Belfast Telegraph, Neeson said he was “delighted” to be involved with the project. “There is a movement in Ireland to reconnect with our heritage, to rediscover what it means to be Irish, and I am delighted to help bring the joy and diversity of all that Ireland has to offer, both the old and the new, to IMAX and giant-screen audiences worldwide,” he said.
The documentary will take viewers to locations such as the Cliffs of Moher and Giant’s Causeway, as well as tour the well-known cities of Dublin and Belfast. Along the way, Magan and his travel companions will study basking sharks with scientists and engage in the comical puffins of Skellig.
Ireland will be the fourth large-format documentary from Freeman, who released his first theatrical documentary, 1998’s Everest, to critical acclaim. Everest was followed by 2001’s Journey Into Amazing Caves, and 2003’s Coral Reef Adventure, all of which included Neeson’s narration. In addition to being a heritage project, Ireland is also a tourism marketing production, with Freeman teaming up with Ireland’s tourism arm, Tourism Ireland, and United Airlines to create the documentary.
Ireland will be released to IMAX and large format screens across the U.S., Canada, and Ireland next February. Check out the trailer below:
via Collider