Blanketmen charts the morale of Republican prisoners through the tumultuous period of the 1976-81 H-Block protest.
Locked up for 24 hours a day, wrapped only in a blanket, denied any form of stimulus, beaten and degraded, the blanketmen displayed an indomitable spirit which saw them rise above everything their captors could inflict.
In hardship they found humour; in silence they found song; in isolation they found each other; and together with dignity and comradeship they fought and won.
Through the personal accounts of former prisoners the story of survival is brought to a new audience. Blanketmen is a fascinating insight into life during the protest, in particular it's culmination with the deaths of 10 men on hunger strike.
Nearly 30 years later the H-block protest continues to ignite passions and stimulate debate because of ordinary men who found it within themselves to never give up.
Ireland / 2009 / 45mins / Director: Barry Curran / Cert U
