The Last Hunger Strike

In the spring and summer of 1981 fifteen young men, prisoners in Northern Ireland, decided as a final form of protest to begin a hunger strike. This film explores the day to day reality which compels a man to voluntarily surrender his life as a form of protest.

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Reviews

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Covering the period of 1968, when a fledgling civil rights movement enlisted both Catholic and Protestant poor, until 1981, when Northern Ireland had moved to a bitter polarization, the film clearly outlines what happened in each depressing step along the way.
John J. O'ConnorThe New York Times

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Presents a viewpoint heretofore banned fro the airwaves!
Ray QuinnAmerican-Irish Unity Committee

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For an understanding of the Irish situation, it's an hour not to be missed . . . . It is like a skillfully created tapestry, weaving facts, film footage of violent upheavals, and interviews. It packs a tremendous emotional wallop!
Kay GardellaThe Daily News

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A sensitive – but shattering – look at the human dimensions of violence that continues to rock Northern Ireland.
Liz EmmettPBS Television

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From the beginning of the Irish civil rights movement, through his death in prison, Michael’s story is told by those who knew him well and by those throughout Ireland who share his convictions. Woven into the personal narrative are interviews with a British government official and with members of the Protestant Loyalist community.
National Video Festival American Film Institute

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It has, for the first time in film, given voice to both sides in the Northern Irish conflict. For anyone seeking a balanced understanding of reports which normally originate from one side only, it is essential viewing.
James P. CullenBrehon Law Society

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It is tight, concise and effective at bringing to light the ‘missing elements’ of the BBC series.
Madeline TokachCeltic League

Description

In the spring and summer of 1981 fifteen young men, prisoners in Northern Ireland, decided as a final form of protest to begin a hunger strike. Over a four month period, ten of these men starved to death. Michael James Devine was the last of the hunger strikers to die. To his community he died a freedom fighter, to the British government he died a common criminal. Within these two classifications lies the germ of Michael’s story. THE LAST HUNGER STRIKE explores the day to day reality which compels a man to voluntarily surrender his life as a form of protest.