Steve McQueen - Artist and film-maker HARDtalk

falling in the coming months. It is time to bring your HARDtalk.

What is a film and what is art? Is a movie about a male sex addict

with a scene after seen of him indulging in his addiction art?

With me is the award-winning artist and film-maker Steve McQueen. He is

considered to be one of the most exciting talents in the film

industry. Does he deserve the accolades for her this movie and

Steve McQueen, welcome to HARDtalk. Thank you. Why did she want to make

a film about a man with a sex addiction? I thought it was

important. It is a subject which nobody speaking about. I thought it

was worthy of having a background where people can actually have a

conversation about the film. Do you really think nobody speaks about it

Crows we have had various Hollywood actors talk about sex addictions.

People go into sex clinics. People talk about it. But people snigger.

They laugh at it. It is not taken seriously. It is not seen might

alcohol addiction or drug addiction. What was fascinating about it was

that everyone indulges in a one way or another in sex. Everyone drinks

-- not everyone drinks or takes drugs. But everyone has a

relationship with sex. There is a stigma attached to sex. I wanted to

look at it in a serious fashion. you believe sex addiction exists?

Expert opinion is divided. One example, in the United States a

doctor who works as a psychologist for more than a decade says there

is no evidence that sex addiction is a ballad psychiatric disorder.

It is not like drug were alcohol addiction. You do not get cravings

and withdrawal symptoms. It is more of a compulsion. Addiction is the

wrong word. Once upon a time people used to say the world was flat. A

lot of people believed it. It is one of those things where there is

a stigma attached to it. The stigma is sex. You did a lot of research.

People who describe themselves as sex addicts. I do not want to

suggest that their opinions are not valid. But consider what the

experts said. Are you convinced it exists in the light of your

conversations with them? People were diagnosing themselves. Experts

in the field to have looked into this just as much as his other

expert has. They came to an end conclusion that there is a thing

called sex addiction. One could take alcohol and drug addiction out

of somebody's life. That is why it is a problem. This rock musician he

used to play for her a bend in America says he believes he slept

with more than 3,000 women. He said he never considered himself a sex

addict. He said it never messed up his ability to function at a higher

level. You cannot absorb man who pronounce themselves sex addicts. -

- abs older man. You cannot absolve them of their actions. You cannot.

There is a difference between being promiscuous and having an addiction.

There is a difference. A man who has had sex with more than 3,000

women? I do not know what the average number is. It could be more.

There is a situation similar to drug or alcohol addiction. They are

craving for the thing and running their lives. Addiction is when

everything else becomes secondary. The compulsion is destroying their

life. That is what you film says? It is a serious matter. People are

laughing about it. But it is serious. People's lives are being

ruined. We will show you a cup of your film. You make a distinction

between the central character, Brandon, whose inability to be

intimate with a woman who he likes. One person for the rest of your

life. You come to restaurants and see couple sitting together. They

do not have anything to say. They are connected. They do not have to

speak. Or they are just a bore. -- Ford. What is your longest

relationship? Exactly? For months. That is the actor who plays the

character of Brandon. You said in making this film that you wanted to

challenge people's assumptions. But surely it to do that you need to

inform them somehow. That is one of the criticism about your film. This

character, Brandon, we have no idea what he does for her a living. He

comes out of nowhere. You do not empathise or sympathise with him.

You do not know a great deal about him. Surely you have to inform

them? People are very intelligent. The job that he does is a job in an

office environment. It is like any job in an office. It is to do with

advertising. The situation of the back story, the criticism has come

about where he comes from. I have just met you. Hopefully we can get

to know each other. At understand your past three your presence. That

is what I want to do through the film. The movie had been going on

for a while before all this had come out. There is a moment in

Brandon's wife where they can put the pieces of the jigsaw puzzle

together through the present. have seen the film. There is a lot

of sex. A lot of full frontal nudity. Soft-core pornography

masquerading as art? Sex titillate. All people find this -- sex

addiction titillating. Are you not saying that sex sells? People can

do that more successfully than I could possibly do in this situation.

It is not particularly sexy. It is not pornographic or vulgar. This is

irresponsible film. It is about a personal problem with their sex

life. But people might go because they know it has explicit sex

scenes. That is fine. And people go to films where people get their

heads chopped off. I cannot dictate what people want. The point I'm

trying to make is that this is about someone who has a problem.

And finding myself defending sexual addiction quite often. It is

similar in the 80s with people who have HIV. There is this massive

stigma. Similar to people with sex addiction. It is serious. In terms

of the Spelman would you, does it worry you that it got a higher

rating? It may not be as much of a commercial success as it might have

been. My reason for making this film is to do something responsible.

Does it worry you that it may not be as commercially successful with

this rating? People will see this film. Children have ways of seeing

things which their parents do not want them to see. His commercial

success important to you? What is important is that people see the

movie. People might be turned off. I am going on to a wider point.

People who are intelligent will have the opportunity to realise

there is a way around that. Looking at it in a wider perspective. I'll

tell you what the Prime Minister has said. He is urging British

film-makers are there focus to mainstream movies. This is to

bolster the $7 billion British film industry. Calling for more

commercially successful pictures to rival Hollywood. Is that something

that resonates with you? Making culturally rewarding films as David

Cameron has put that may not be commercial successes. I do not even

know what that means. Culturally rewarding. Not even Hollywood is

accurate at what makes money. Take a look at the King's Speech. Nobody

wanted to invest in that movie. is a good example. In the end it

was a massive success. But it was made by independent film-makers and

cost $14 million to make, getting back $400 million. It won four

Oscars. It shows you can make a film on a small budget that is

commercially successful. We do have liked to have made something like

that? If I wanted to make money I would be in a different game. I am

an artist. What is art about? It is about experimenting and reflecting

with humanity. If it makes money, great. If it does not, so what?

you might not get public money. That is what the government says.

The government want to get involved in how art is there seemed to and

how art is made. -- proceed. If we go down that road we are in a

dangerous place. But if you take money from British Film Institute

and you say, I have the right to make a film and do artistic work,

it is a pity that not everyone likes it, can you justify that?

can justify that in that the only quality people can have in terms of

making film is that it has some kind of criteria of trying to be

excellent. It tries to be excellent. A lot of things have commercial

success that a not very good at all. You have had your accolades, in

particular for your film Hunger. He won a BAFTA award for it. Best

feature film for -- by a director for the first time. It was about

the hunger strikes in the early 80s in Belfast. You said at the time,

this is one of the most important moments in a recent British history.

Why did you say that? Ten men died in a British spy -- prison cell

because of starvation. That is important. Ten men died of

starvation in a prison cell. That is pretty huge. But wasn't that

their choice? It was a choice to make the film in the context of

what was going on at the time. did you film lacked balance? One

bomb victims said that your film about Bobby Sands glorify as

terrorists. I do not think that gentleman actually saw the film.

Others made that comment. Even before the cameras started to roll,

people were saying that it was glamorising it. I will ask people

to go and see it before they judge it. And you obviously do think that.

I am just saying that this position a lot of people hold that it lacks

balance... It very much emphasised with Bobby Sands. I always try to

make a balance. It was always my intention. The actor Stuart Graham

who plays a prison warden, we follow him, we see his side of the

story. We also seek the hunger striker' side of the story.

talk about she mongers de? showed it. We showed what the IRA

did in the picture. We see members of the irate shooting a prison

officer. -- the IRA. So it you refute the fact that it lacked

balance? I do not refuted, go and see the picture. You cannot make a

film about this without having some idea of what the other side is

feeling. To me, she manatee is more important. -- humanity is more

important. Some sort of answer to the situation they Erian. He also

said the film has contemporary evidence -- residents. The body is

becoming a site of political warfare. Your own body is your last

resort for protest. You talk about suicide bombers. Of course. People

are taking Daren life in such a way... -- their own that life. It

is warfare. Warfare is something that does interest you. In 2003 you

were appointed by the Imperial War Museum as the war artist to Iraq.

You spend six days in Iraq. The result was a work called Queen and

country. It consists of wooden cabinets filled with facsimile it

stands with portraits of dead bridges soldiers. Looking at Hunger,

the subject matter, hunger strikes, fought the irate the British

soldier was the ultimate enemy. You were commemorating British soldiers

in Iraq. I am not trying to compare the two incidences, but had he

reconcile it? They are humans that died in a tragic way. The ultimate

goal was to have an official stamp made. People died in a war honoured

with a stab. -- people died in a war, they were honoured by a stamp.

Bain officer in a British army could have a stamp. To honour the

dead. Unfortunately, we were stopped by the Royal Mail. What do

you want to happen to your work? What we and their relatives wanted

was that they make official stamps of the dead. That is what you do it.

You said it struck me as an intimate but distinguished way as a

way of highlighting the efforts of these individuals. But you

mentioned national ideals. Did I? HARDtalk never get it wrong. What

were you talking about their? not know, I do not remember saying

it. I can only interpreted in the weight that what I like about

Britain is that we can reflect... On situations that we can reflect

on ourselves, reflect on what we have done, who we are. You said

that straight after visiting Iraq. You know why I am asking you this?

In what way was the Iraq war upholding a national ideals with

the UK? We have heard politicians and commentators all saying that it

was not a walk. Was it a regime changed? I do not believe I ever

said it. You want to have a debate about it. I am just asking you.

Personally, I do not agree with the war in Iraq. So why did you except

to become the official war artist to Iraq? Requested by the Imperial

War Museum. What I was trying to say -- if I did say that, it is all

about contradicting the whole notion of what the war artist is.

You go there to reflect on what is going on. You criticise it. Were

you criticising yet by taking that position? I do not know. Did your

friends ask what you were doing? because the post is not about

glorifying British nationalism. I am not interested. The post has

always been a situation of an artist reflecting on circumstances.

But, let me finish... The fact of the manor is... For me, the stamp

is for people who oppose the war and also... If you send people out

to war and they die in the name of the country, you should honour them.

It is a matter of great tragedy that these soldiers did die. But

you do not shy away from gritty topics at all, do you, Steve

McQueen? You are working on another topic right now about a slave.

is black. Wrongly reported again! Sorry. Gritty topics is what you

really like. I like things for me which are screaming but are not

being held -- being heard. It is very evident to me that these

things need subject. Race is an end slavery? Freedom. - races them and

slavery? All of my films are about freedom. Twelve Years a Slave is

about a middle class black man in the 18th century and he is

kidnapped. Final question, you have said, I take my audiences seriously

because they take myself seriously. I do not offer them a plate with

food already on it. I offer them a buffet. Is that what you like? You

do your work and your heart and you let the audience take away what

they want from it? I think it is important that once people leave

the exhibition or cinema, they can come away and have a conversation

about the subject. The artwork should provoke them to have a