Art can't fix anything. It can just observe and portray. What's important is that it becomes an object, a thing you can see and talk about and refer to. A film is an object around which you can have a debate, more so than the incident itself. - Steve McQueen, The Observer, Jan 2012

Through Manhattan’s slick expanses of concrete and glass, attractive, affluent, 30-something Brandon pursues corporate success by day, and a hell of sleazy, loveless sex by night. Brandon, (played by Michael Fassbender) is the central protagonist of Steve McQueen’s critically acclaimed film, Shame, and he is a sex-addict.

Shame premiered at The 68th Venice Film Festival where Michael Fassbender won a Volpi Cup for Best Actor for his role in the film. It was also screened at The 36th Toronto International Film Festival,The 49th New York Film Festival, The 55th BFI London Film Festival and The 34th Starz Denver Film Festival.

In this post-screening Q&A, Shame producer Iain Canning and Mark Cosgrove, Watershed’s Head of Programme, answer audience questions about the film, discussing the difficulties of dealing with such a sensitive subject matter, and the film's reception in America.

Iain Canning is an Oscar-winning producer and co-founder See Saw Films. He has worked as executive producer on Control (2007), Hunger (2008), and The Kings Speech (2010).

Related Links:
Steve McQueen Interview with The Observer
Guardian Review of Shame

Posted on Fri 9 Dec 2011.

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