HBO Acquires Documentary ‘The Slightest Touch’ Starring Colin Farrell

Colin Farrell is set to reunite with HBO later this year, although his return for a second season of The Penguin remains uncertain. The network has acquired the TV and streaming rights to The Slightest Touch, a documentary featuring Farrell alongside Emma Fogarty, a survivor of epidermolysis bullosa.

The film will have its world premiere at the Dublin International Film Festival later this month. It is produced by HBO Documentary Films and directed by Rachel Fleit, known for her work on the HBO Max documentary Bama Rush.

Focusing on Fogarty, who battles a rare and painful genetic condition that makes her skin highly susceptible to injury, the documentary chronicles her journey as she prepares to turn 40—an age doctors once predicted she would not reach. With the encouragement of her longtime friend Colin Farrell, Fogarty will attempt to complete the Dublin Marathon, with Farrell pushing her wheelchair for the final miles, showcasing the enduring nature of their friendship.

HBO plans to premiere the documentary later this year, and it will also stream on HBO Max globally, including in newly launched services for the UK and Ireland.

The production comes from Fine Point Films and Chapel Place Productions, in association with The Kennedy/Marshall Company, Original Films, Deshe Capital LLC, The deNovo Initiative, Union Editorial, Northern Ireland Screen, and Fís Éireann/Screen Ireland.

Fleit produces the film alongside Farrell, Claudine Farrell, Trevor Birney, Eimhear O’Neill, and Frank Marshall, with executive producers including Aly Parker, Tony Rosenthal, Alexandra Bowen, Ori Eisen, Michael Raimondi, Katherine LeBlond, Niamh Fagan, and the Deshe Family, as well as co-executive producers Dawn Bonder, Daniel J. Chalfen, and Marci Wiseman.

Fleit remarked, “Making this film brought me back, over and over, to what I think matters most in life: love, care, community, and the friendships that carry us. It was an honor to bear witness to the extraordinary bond between Emma and Colin, and I’m deeply grateful to HBO Documentary Films for helping bring this story, and its message, to audiences around the world.”

Farrell expressed, “I can’t think of The Slightest Touch as a film, certainly not like any film I’ve ever been a part of before. For me, it’s simply a collage of home videos, moments in time that we all shared during its making. Whatever the film is, whatever people may find it to be, we’re so grateful that our adventure, our friendships, and our shared love for each other has found a home on HBO.”