There isnt, then, much to say about sands life, apart from those nine years in which he was imprisoned, awaiting imprisonment, or engaged in activity that would lead to his imprisonment. Bobby sands starved for 66 days in an irish prison in an attempt to gain. In the spring of 1981 irish republican bobby sands 66day hunger strike brought the attention of the world to his cause. There are moments of terrible sadness in 66 days, brendan j byrnes profoundly moving account of bobby sands hunger strike in the socalled h blocks of long kesh prison. Tommy mckearney ex hunger striker 53 days 1980 gave connolly. Aug 02, 2016 there are moments of terrible sadness in 66 days, brendan j byrnes profoundly moving account of bobby sands hunger strike in the socalled h blocks of long kesh prison. This clip from the feature length documentary bobby sands. Use our reminder system to get an email alert when bobby sands.
The nationalist conflict is unresolved to this day, making bobby sands 66 days a subversive film. Aug 17, 2017 hot docs has received filmmaker permission to upload this trailer to the hotdocsfest youtube channel. Drawing on an irish republican tradition of martyrdom, sands emotive, nonviolent protest to be classified as a political prisoner became a defining moment in 20th century irish. See more ideas about bobby sands, irish and history. The film disrespects bobby sands and all the hunger strikers by removing their actions from the political context of the time. The spine of the film is comprised of sands own words, drawn from his. Robert gerard sands 9 march 1954 5 may 1981, commonly known as bobby sands, was a member of the provisional irish republican army who died on hunger strike while imprisoned. Would the likes of sammy wilson mp be won over by the finished work. Byrnes film is a salutary reminder of those grim and. Using extracts from bobby sands s diary, testimony and footage from the archives, the. The director of a new film about the life of hungerstriker bobby sands, 66 days, has said he expects there to be a kneejerk reaction from people before they even see the documentary. In the spring of 1981 bobby sands 66day hunger strike brought the attention of the world to his cause. Hot docs has received filmmaker permission to upload this trailer to the hotdocsfest youtube channel. Nov 16, 2016 the nationalist conflict is unresolved to this day, making bobby sands 66 days a subversive film.
Its a fairly straightforward doc, counting down the last 66 days of sandss life via expert testimony from historians and colleagues, with lots of eyeopening archive footage. Its neither an apologetic nor a rosetinted documentary. Filmmaker brendan j byrne tells the story of the 66day hunger strike conducted by provisional ira member bobby sands during the spring of 1981. In the spring of 1981 irish republican bobby sands 66 day hunger strike brought the attention of the world to his cause. In the spring of 1981 irish republican bobby sands 66day hunger strike brought. Sands died a slow 66 days later, after winning a seat as a uk mp from his cell in the maze prison. Byrnes film is a sober, evenhanded recapitulation of sandss imprisonment and death that places him in a historical. Press eye belfast northern ireland 31st july 2016 brendan byrne, olivia byrne, sharon darby and greg darby are pictured at the film premiere of bobby sands. This clip from the upcoming feature length documentary bobby sands. At 17, bobby sands was interested in girls, soccer and music. Drawing on an irish republican tradition of martyrdom, sands emotive, non. And while some of the animated sequences are well done, the editing is poor. By the early 1980s, after two decades of violence and unrest, the situation in northern ireland took a sudden and profound turn inside the infamous maze prison.
This film had potential to present an unbiased view of the history leading up to bobby sands death and the political results of it, but chose to go down a staunchly onesided path, portraying sands as a martyr, a hero, a freedom fighter and an artist, while demonising the unionist side of the community im a firm believer that ni is one, not two communities. Oct 31, 2017 film maker brendan j byrne explores the story of bobby sands s 66 day hunger strike in the spring of 1981. Bobby sands 66 days, a new film on the hungerstrike of. Content media in 1981, bobby sands is a 27yearold member of the ira, doing a 14year sentence for weapons possession in northern irelands maze prison, when he leads fellow prisoners on a hunger strike demanding that they be treated as political prisoners. Apr 28, 2016 video archive for the film bobby sands. Tommy mckearney ex hunger striker 53 days 1980 gave connolly media group an interview to discuss brendan j byrnes new film bobby sands 66 days and to reflect on his time on hunger strike. Nov 29, 2016 but 66 days is the first fulllength documentary about sands. The spine of the film is comprised of sands own words, drawn from his hunger strike diary, a unique insight into the man and his beliefs as he embarked on his final journey.
With this documentary, director brendan byrne doesnt try to find the man behind the iconic figure, so much as he attempts to uncover the. In one he describes the 1981 hunger strike as drama at the absolute rawest edge it could possibly be. The documentary film is bookended by quotes from fintan otoole. Its always funny to me how film buffs try to figure out the many cryptic plot points in. At the same time, bobby sands is separated from the historical context by the constant positing of him as some kind of artist. Drawing on an irish republican tradition of martyrdom, sands emotive, nonviolent protest to be classified as a political prisoner became a defining moment in 20th century irish history.
His suffering and eerie celebrity made headlines worldwide, marking a key turning point in. Director brendan j byrne on new bobby sands doc 66 days the. It went on general release in ireland on 5 august 2016, where it set a record for the highestgrossing opening weekend for an irish documentary film 50,933 or gb. Sands married geraldine noade while in prison on robbery charges on 3 march 1973. A film about ira hunger striker bobby sands has become one of the most lucrative northern irish films ever. Director of bobby sands film expects kneejerk reaction. With gerry adams, michael alison, humphrey atkins, aram bakshian. This is a film full of unanswered questions, or to be precise, unasked questions. Byrne, the film centres on the belfast ira activists fast to the death at the hblocks in the maze prisonlong kesh.
Journalist fintan otoole, a contributor to the film, believes that the tragic. It didnt have any problems that cooperation and togetherness couldnt solve. Seeking the right to be treated as political prisoners rather than common criminals, irish republicans led by bobby sands began a prison hunger strike that would draw international attention to the conflict. Drawing on an irish republican tradition of martyrdom, sands. But the critique of the hunger strike, the decisions of the uk government and the protests long term effect is fairly lenient. The film made its north american premiere at tiff 2016 and is one of the most successful films to ever come out of northern ireland.
There is currently one video available for the film, of which one and only one is a trailer, as listed below. Nov 30, 2016 there isnt, then, much to say about sands life, apart from those nine years in which he was imprisoned, awaiting imprisonment, or engaged in activity that would lead to his imprisonment. Director brendan j byrne on new bobby sands doc 66 days. Nov 30, 2016 as subtle and eventempered as a documentary about a selfstarving political martyr can possibly be, brendan j. Brendan j byrnes film employs a combination of harrowing archive footage, custom animation. The film alternates between an uneasy sense of futility and the spiritual triumph granted in part by by hindsight, the triumph that appears to trump the relentless despair. Sandss sister, bernadette sands mckevitt, is also a prominent irish republican. Bobby sands film 66 days a box office hit the irish news. Structured around sandss decline, 66 days powers us through a sociopolitical. It follows, then, that its us premiere would be in the fight the power programming segment of doc nyc.
Byrne on allmovie in his 1981 prison hunger strike, bobby sands put. Apr 06, 2016 hot docs has received filmmaker permission to upload this trailer to the hotdocsfest youtube channel. Now, once wed almost finished the film, as you do with your funding. A gripping tale of terrible times structured around sandss decline, 66 days powers us through a sociopolitical maelstrom. Filmmaker brendan j byrne explores the story of bobby sandss 66day hunger strike in the spring of 1981. This is so well done, even though as an american i lived through the times, it is so. In the spring of 1981 irish republican bobby sands 66day hunger strike brought the. The film sets events firmly in context but the critique of the hunger strike, the decisions of the uk government and the protests long. Using extracts from bobby sandss diary, testimony and footage from the archives, the. As subtle and eventempered as a documentary about a selfstarving political martyr can possibly be, brendan j. Controversy surrounding new bobby sands documentary bobby.
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