“Positively riveting. An artistic masterpiece. A harrowing, poetic film.”
—Washington Post

The first feature film from Turner Prize–winning visual artist Steve McQueen is an unflinching examination of the last six weeks in the life of Bobby Sands, a member of the Irish Republican Army who engaged in a hunger strike in Northern Ireland’s Maze Prison in 1981. The situation between guards and prisoners escalates to a fever pitch as this engrossing film shows the extraordinary power of physical, psychological, and spiritual resistance, and reveals the extreme sacrifice Sands and his cellmates endured for their religious convictions. “Hunger is raw, powerful filmmaking and an urgent reminder of this uniquely ugly, tragic and dysfunctional period in British and Irish history” (The Guardian). 2008, 35mm, 96 minutes.

Winner of the Camera d’Or and the Fipresci International Critics Prize (2008 Cannes Film Festival); the New Generation Award (2008 Los Angeles Film Critics Association Awards); the Discovery Award (2008 Toronto International Film Festival); the Golden Hugo for Best Film (Chicago International Film Festival); the Douglas Hilcox Award (British Independent Film Awards 2008); Best Actor (British Independent Film Awards 2008); and European Discovery of the Year— Steve McQueen (2008 European Film Awards). Nominated for Best Foreign Film (2009 Independent Spirit Awards).

The Premieres: First Look series is made possible by generous support from Elizabeth Redleaf.

“Positively riveting. An artistic masterpiece. A harrowing, poetic film.”
—Washington Post

The first feature film from Turner Prize–winning visual artist Steve McQueen is an unflinching examination of the last six weeks in the life of Bobby Sands, a member of the Irish Republican Army who engaged in a hunger strike in Northern Ireland’s Maze Prison in 1981. The situation between guards and prisoners escalates to a fever pitch as this engrossing film shows the extraordinary power of physical, psychological, and spiritual resistance, and reveals the extreme sacrifice Sands and his cellmates endured for their religious convictions. “Hunger is raw, powerful filmmaking and an urgent reminder of this uniquely ugly, tragic and dysfunctional period in British and Irish history” (The Guardian). 2008, 35mm, 96 minutes.

Winner of the Camera d’Or and the Fipresci International Critics Prize (2008 Cannes Film Festival); the New Generation Award (2008 Los Angeles Film Critics Association Awards); the Discovery Award (2008 Toronto International Film Festival); the Golden Hugo for Best Film (Chicago International Film Festival); the Douglas Hilcox Award (British Independent Film Awards 2008); Best Actor (British Independent Film Awards 2008); and European Discovery of the Year— Steve McQueen (2008 European Film Awards). Nominated for Best Foreign Film (2009 Independent Spirit Awards).

The Premieres: First Look series is made possible by generous support from Elizabeth Redleaf.