THE FILM Hunger, dealing with the death of IRA hunger striker Bobby Sands, received the Camera d'Or award at the closing ceremony of the Festival de Cannes last night.
The award, one of the most prestigious at Cannes, is given to the director of the best first-time feature film in any section of the festival. It was presented by the jury chairman, French director Bruno Dumont, and US actor Dennis Hopper.
The prize was accepted by director Steve McQueen, the British artist who won the Turner Prize in 1999. "I'm very proud for myself and the marvellous cast and crew I had on this film," McQueen told The Irish Timesafter the awards ceremony. "As we worked on it, I knew that we were making something special. Michael Fassbender [who plays Sands] is a star, as are Liam Cunningham and Stuart Graham, and our young actors, Liam McMahon and Brian Milligan. They are the weight, heart and soul of the film."
McQueen said last night that he identified with both sides of the political divide as he made the film.
"I'm a human being," he said. "I understand one side as much as the other. Sides don't matter to me. It is all about human beings, people in an extraordinary situation."
An Irish-UK co-production, Hungerwas written by McQueen and Irish playwright Enda Walsh. It was funded by Channel 4, Northern Ireland Screen and the Broadcasting Commission of Ireland.
Hungerwas not eligible for the Palme d'Or award because it was screened outside of the main festival competition. It was the opening presentation of the official Cannes sidebar section, Un Certain Regard, and it received a five-minute standing ovation.
Hungerbecame the subject of many bidding battles at Cannes. Before the festival closed last night, the rights had been sold to distributors in the US, UK, Ireland, France, Belgium, Portugal, Greece, Australia and New Zealand. The film is likely to go on cinema release in the autumn.
Hungeremploys minimal dialogue for its extended final sequence as it observes the physical deterioration of Sands, who died after 66 days on hunger strike. This is a harrowing, deliberately disturbing sequence in which the performance of German-born, Killarney-raised actor Fassbender is astonishing.