Hunger
Apr 10 - Apr 16, 2009
(Steve McQueen, United Kingdom, 2008, 35mm, 96 min)
A tour-de-force debut by renowned British visual artist Steve McQueen, Hunger follows the final six weeks in the life of Irish hunger striker Bobby Sands. Displaying a breathtaking control of image, sound, pacing and tone, McQueen delivers a devastating portrait of political violence as it is inflicted and as it is felt. His imagery includes a pair of bloodied hands immersed in a basin, contraband packages passing silently between inmates and their loved ones, and a young man of principle, delirious from starvation, bravely rallying against a dying light. Though its primary subject is IRA member Bobby Sands and the 1981 hunger strike he waged to improve conditions for fellow political prisoners, the film is not a biopic but a lyrical reverie on human suffering. Hunger is a provocative exploration of the politics of torture and the yearning for spiritual transcendence.
Winner, Camera D'Or for Best Director, Cannes Film Festival
Winner, Discovery Award, Toronto International Film Festival
"But Hunger displays uncommon intelligence and visual panache, transcending the goal of making the situation seem real. It feels more than real. It's art." -San Francisco Chronicle
"A mesmerizing 96 minutes of cinema, one of the truly extraordinary filmmaking debuts of recent years." -Salon.com
"McQueen has taken the raw materials of filmmaking and committed an act of great art." -Washington Post
"A harrowing experience and a rule-breaking tour de force." -Globe and Mail
Watch the trailer: