|
Bobby
Sands
biopic,
Hunger
On
Sunday,
September
28th,
three
other
NIFC
members
and
I
attended
a
screening
of
the
acclaimed
Bobby
Sands
biopic,
Hunger,
at
the
New
York
Film
Festival.
Hunger,
British
director
Steve
McQueen’s
first
film,
won
the
Best
First
Feature
Film
award
at
this
year’s
Cannes
Film
Festival.
It
is
a
powerful
and
gut
wrenching
account
of
the
1981
hunger
strike
during
wh2009 Bobby Sands
film report.htmich
Sands
and
nine
other
men
died.
Prior
to
the
film,
the
four
of
us
distributed
approximately
150
flyers
to
film
goers.
Very
few
refused
to
take
a
flyer
and
I
received
no
negative
comments
from
anyone.
We
were
approached
by
an
Argentinian
woman
by
the
name
of
Alicia,
who
told
us
she
was
seeing
the
film
for
the
second
time
(it
was
also
screened
the
day
before).
She
told
us
how
she
became
involved
in
the
Irish
struggle
during
the
British/Argentine
conflict
over
the
Malvinas/Falkland
Islands.
While
protesting
outside
the
British
Consulate
in
New
York,
she
got
to
know
many
Irish
activists
and
became
interested
in
Irish
republican
politics.
Alicia
said
she
wrote
to
Bobby
Sands
in
prison
although
by
that
time
he
was
already
on
hunger
strike.
She
struck
me
as
a
bright
and
passionate
woman
and
I
now
wish
that
I
had
asked
for
her
phone
number.
I
bet
she
would
be
an
interesting
friend.
Alicia
consented
to
repeat
her
story
on
tape
which
will
be
added
to
the
NIFC
website
(irishfreedom.net).
“Everyone
should
see
this
film”
she
said.
Hunger
dramatizes
life
inside
Long
Kesh
prison
and
the
events
surrounding
the
1981
IRA/INLA
hunger
strike.
This
drama
focuses
primarily
on
the
prison
experience
of
Bobby
Sands,
a
27
year
old
Belfast
resident
and
IRA
Volunteer,
convicted
of
possession
of
firearms
and
sentenced
to
14
years
imprisonment.
Bobby
Sands
died
on
May
5th
at
the
age
of
27
after
66
days
on
hunger
strike
in
Long
Kesh
prison
outside
Belfast.
Sands
was
the
first
of
10
Irish
political
prisoners
to
die
on
hunger
strike
in
1981,
which
was
undertaken
to
regain
political
status
(“Special
Category
Status”)
for
IRA
and
INLA
prisoners
in
British
prisons.
Political
status
was
eventually
restored
to
Irish
Republican
political
prisoners
on
October
3,
1981
but
only
after
Sands
and
nine
other
men
had
died
on
agonizing
hunger
strike.
The
British
government,
under
Margaret
Thatcher,
attempted
to
vilify
these
men
by
revoking
the
Special
Category
Status
previously
given
to
Irishmen
and
women
convicted
of
political
offenses.
They
were
reclassified
as
common
criminals.
After
numerous
failed
attempts
at
negotiation,
these
men
volunteered
to
undertake
a
hunger
strike.
This
film
is
a
graphic
account
of
the
last
few
months
of
Sands’
life.
Although
I
have
read
many
accounts
of
the
1981
hunger
strike,
this
film
gripped
me
at
a
deeper
emotional
level.
These
were
young
men
after
all.
Men
willing
to
die
for
their
cause.
Men
with
their
whole
adult
lives
ahead
of
them.
In
its
short
90
minutes,
this
brilliant
and
powerful
film
–
not
one
minute
wasted,
by
the
way
–
managed
to
portray
the
brutality
these
men
endured
in
Long
Kesh
and
the
events
that
forced
them
to
go
on
hunger
strike.
Daily
life
on
the
blanket,
the
reality
of
the
dirty
protest,
the
forced
washings
by
prison
guards,
the
cruelty
of
the
‘gauntlet,’
the
barbarity
of
the
beatings,
the
loneliness
and
isolation,
the
factors
that
lead
to
the
decision
to
go
on
hunger
strike,
and
the
horrendous
physical
and
psychological
ordeal
they
underwent
every
day
while
their
bodies
broke
down
until
they
finally
went
blind,
deaf
and
ultimately
died,
were
vividly
depicted.
Surprisingly,
given
the
subject
matter,
Hunger
was
objectively
filmed.
The
film
opens
with
the
beginning
of
a
work
day
for
a
prison
guard
who
is
seen
checking
underneath
his
car
for
explosives
and
watching
for
snipers
outside
his
home
as
he
prepares
to
leave
for
work.
There
is
another
scene
in
which
a
prison
guard
breaks
down
in
tears,
unable
to
continue
his
duties
beating
prisoners
as
they
are
forced
through
‘the
gauntlet.’
Early
on
is
a
voice
over
of
Margaret
Thatcher’s
infamous
“there
is
no
political
crime...”
speech.
In
the
middle
of
the
film
is
a
scene
between
Sands
(brilliantly
portrayed
by
Michael Fassbender)
and
a
priest
(played
by
Liam
Cunningham)
discussing
the
morality
of
hunger
strikes.
It
is
in
this
scene
that
Sands
commitment
and
singlemindness
to
the
struggle
is
driven
home.
The
screening
was
followed
by
a
Question
and
Answer
session
with
the
director
of
this
movie.
An
NIFC
member
questioned
why
there
are
still
nearly
100
Irish
political
prisoners
in
British
jails
today.
He
also
pointed
out
that
although
Gerry
Adams
was
imprisoned
in
Long
Kesh
at
the
same
time
as
Bobby
Sands,
he
questioned
why
he
was
never
subjected
to
the
type
of
treatment
endured
by
Sands
and
the
other
prisoners
depicted
in
this
movie.
The
directed
responded
with
a
comment
that
this
was
a
question
for
Gerry
Adams.
Watching
this
film
was
excruciatingly
painful.
There
were
several
scenes
that
I
could
not
watch.
The
sounds
and
sights
of
beatings
these
young
men
endured
was
heart
breaking.
This
movie
filled
me
with
painful
empathy
and
deep
respect
for
these
brave
young
men.
It
also
made
me
angry.
Life
in
Long
Kesh
was
gruesome.
That
said,
I
am
so
very
glad
I
saw
this
film.
It
made
the
hunger
strike
more
real
to
me.
More
visceral.
If
you
see
this
film
–
and
you
should
–
you
will
know
what
I
mean.
Ten
men
died
in
1981
to
regain
political
status
for
Irish
freedom
fighters.
We
should
not
forget
that
today
there
are
close
to
100
Irish
political
prisoners
in
British
prisons
without
Special
Category
Status
because
Provisional
Sinn
Fein
gave
away
these
rights
when
they
signed
the
Belfast
Agreement
(‘Good
Friday
Agreement’)
in
1998.
Jane
Enright
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