Written and directed by renowned British visual artist, filmmaker and now BAFTA nominated Steve McQueen, Hunger is a powerful and thought-provoking real-life portrayal of the 1981 Hunger Strike led by Bobby Sands in Northern Ireland’s Maze Prison. Released to buy and rent on DVD on 23 February 2009 from Pathe Distribution Ltd., the hugely critically acclaimed three times BAFTA nominated Hunger has received a host of outstanding awards to date, including the prestigious Camera d’Or for best first feature at the Cannes Film Festival.
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Hailed as an artistic masterpiece, Hunger begins with Maze Prison officer Raymond Logan (Stuart Graham; Michael Collins) preparing for another gruelling day at work in H-Block. The Provisional Irish Republican Army (IRA) prisoners are staging a ‘dirty’ protest in a bid to gain political prisoner status, and are refusing to wash or wear the prison uniform. On the same day, a new IRA prisoner Davey (Brian Milligan; The Boxer) arrives at The Maze, and gets placed in a cell smeared with the excrement of fellow IRA member and cell mate Gerry (Liam McMahon; Snatch).
Michael Fassbender (Hex, Band of Brothers) also nominated for a BAFTA for his role lost an astonishing 21KG to give a powerful and captivating performance as Bobby Sands, who, following several brutal attempts by the prison officers to quell the ‘dirty’ protest, uses his own body as a last resort and leads Davey and the other IRA prisoners in a hunger strike. Liam Cunningham (The Wind That Shakes the Barley), plays the part of a priest, Father Dominic Moran, who in an extraordinary unbroken sequence, questions Sand’s underlying motives and morality of the strike.
With a fantastic ‘Making of’ documentary, Hunger is a fascinating insight into the limits of human endurance. Don’t miss your chance to see this fearless and unexpectedly stunning odyssey on DVD this February.
Award Nominations
BAFTA
” Outstanding British Film
” The Carl Foreman Award (for Special Achievement by a British Director, Writer or Producer for their First Feature Film): Steve McQueen
” Orange Rising Star Award: Michael Fassbender
Evening Standard British Film Awards
” Best Actor: Michael Fassbender
” Best Film
IFTA’s
” Film: Hunger – Laura Hastings-Smith, Robin Gutch (Blast! Films)
” Script Film: Enda Walsh, Hunger – (Blast! Films)
” Actor In a Lead Role – Film: Michael Fassbender, Hunger – (Blast! Films)
” Actor in a Supporting Role Film:
Liam Cunningham, Hunger – (Blast! Films)
Stuart Graham, Hunger – (Blast! Films)
” Original Score: David Holmes, Hunger – (Blast! Films)
” Production Design: Tom McCullagh, Hunger – (Blast! Films)
” Sound: Ronan Hill & Mervyn Moore, Hunger – (Blast! Films)
