Bravo Steve McQueen! From the London Film Festival 2016, Vanessa Thorpe writes for The Guardian: It was the culmination of a film festival that attempted to correct a bias against celebrating black screen talent: Steve McQueen, the film-maker, screenwriter and Turner prizewinning artist, was awarded the British Film Institute fellowship on Saturday. … McQueen is the first black director or producer to receive the film industry honour. …
“As winner of both the Turner prize and an Academy Award, Steve is pre-eminent in the world of film and the moving image. He is one of the most influential and important British artists of the past 25 years and his work, both short and long form, has consistently explored the endurance of humanity – even when it is confronted by inhumane cruelty – with a poetry and visual style that he has made his own,” said Josh Berger, chairman of the BFI.
“We are thrilled that Steve has become a BFI fellow.”
Before striking Oscar gold in 2014, McQueen, 47, stepped nimbly between the world of art to the world of film with his acclaimed 2008 first feature Hunger, which won the Camera d’Or at the Cannes film festival and many other international prizes. (Full story here)
CALA’s Second Foreign Film Series, Political Landscapes: A View from Abroad, features Steve McQueen’s Hunger on Frid
ay, November 4, at Ireland House. McQueen’s longtime collaborator and friend, Irish actor Michael Fassbinder, plays IRA man Bobby Sands in the film. Moderated by CALA’s Michael Zam, this screening is currently full but we have a waiting list – click here to add your name via the RSVP link because there will be cancellations.
The first film of the series, Blackboards (Iran), was screened on Monday, October 17. Directed in 2000 by Samira Makhmalbaf (who was a mere 20-years-old at the time), it is a film to put on your “must see” list. Perhaps we will run a “best of” series one of these semesters.
In the meantime, except for the powerful Hunger, all of the other scheduled movies have seats available. Take a look at the line-up here and RSVP to reserve your seat.