| Bobby Sands: 66 Days | |
|---|---|
 Advertising poster | |
| Directed by | Brendan J. Byrne |
| Written by | Brendan J. Byrne |
| Produced by | Trevor Birney |
| Starring | |
Production companies | Cyprus Avenue Films Fine Point Films |
| Distributed by | Wildcard Distribution |
Release dates |
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Running time | 105 minutes |
| Countries | United Kingdom Ireland |
| Language | English |
Bobby Sands: 66 Days is a 2016 British-Irishdocumentary film aboutBobby Sands and the1981 Irish hunger strike, which lasted for 66 days, fromNorthern Ireland.[1][2]
The film mixes reenactment, animation, interviews and archive footage to relate the story ofBobby Sands and the1981 Irish hunger strike, as well as covering the events leading up to the hunger strike and its complex legacy.Martin McCann reads several excerpts from Sands' own diary.
Bobby Sands: 66 Days premiered atHot Docs Canadian International Documentary Festival in Toronto on 3 May 2016. It went on general release in Ireland on 5 August 2016, where it set a record for the highest-grossing opening weekend for an Irish documentary film (€50,933 or £43,300), and the second-highest for any documentary (behindFahrenheit 9/11).[3]
The Irish Times awarded the film four stars out of five, calling it " a comprehensive, balanced, gripping tale of terrible times."[4]Empire said "Narratives of theNorthern Irish Troubles are a nightmare ofbias and bullshit — this superior doc does better than most in cutting through both."[5] As of 16 August 2019[update], the film had a 90% critics' rating onRotten Tomatoes and a 71 ("generally favourable") onMetacritic.[6][7]
Severalunionist politicians criticised the fact that the film received funding from the state (viaNorthern Ireland Screen and theBBC).[8]
Caoimhghín Ó Caoláin TD, who was Director of Elections for hunger strikerKieran Doherty in 1981 and a National Executive member of theAnti H-Block/Armagh Committee, praised the documentary as "powerful" and "emotionally charged for republicans who had participated in the struggle" during those years. However, he was critical of the prominence given toIrish Times columnistFintan O'Toole, describing his on-screen analysis as "insulting, completely off-the mark" and "deserving of derision."[9]