Hunger (2008 film)
Hunger is a 2008 historical drama film about the 1981 Irish hunger strike. It was directed by Steve McQueen (in his feature directorial debut) and starred Michael Fassbender, Liam Cunningham, and Liam McMahon.
| Hunger | |
|---|---|
UK release poster | |
| Directed by | Steve McQueen |
| Written by | Enda Walsh Steve McQueen |
| Produced by | Laura Hastings-Smith Robin Gutch |
| Starring | Michael Fassbender Liam Cunningham |
| Cinematography | Sean Bobbitt |
| Edited by | Joe Walker |
| Music by | David Holmes |
Production companies | Film4 Productions Channel 4 Northern Ireland Screen Broadcasting Commission of Ireland Wales Creative IP Fund |
| Distributed by | Pathé Distribution |
Release dates |
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Running time | 96 minutes |
| Countries | Ireland United Kingdom |
| Language | English |
| Box office | £1.7 million |
It premiered at the 2008 Cannes Film Festival, winning the prestigious Caméra d'Or award for first-time filmmakers. It went on to win the Sydney Film Prize at the Sydney Film Festival, the Grand Prix of the Belgian Syndicate of Cinema Critics, best picture from the Evening Standard British Film Awards, and received two BAFTA nominations, winning one. The film was also nominated for eight awards at the 2009 IFTAs, winning six at the event.
The film stars Fassbender as Bobby Sands, the Provisional Irish Republican Army (IRA) member who led the second IRA hunger strike and participated in the no wash protest (led by Brendan "The Dark" Hughes) in which Irish republican prisoners tried to regain political status after it had been revoked by the British government in 1976. It outlines events in the Maze Prison in the period leading up to the hunger strike and its aftermath.