Made in the midst of Ireland’s crippling 1980s recession, Pigs is infused with a sense of fury and despair born out of director Cathal Black’s socially-engaged consciousness. Jimmy (Jimmy Brennan), a gay man separated from his wife, moves into a derelict house in inner city Dublin alongside a host of other misfits including the mentally-damaged Tom (Maurice O’Donoghue) and one-time businessman George (George Shane). All are unemployed and drawing social welfare, using webs of lies to disguise how poorly they have fared. With drug-dealers and prostitutes setting up in the house, this makeshift family quickly becomes subject to attention and intimidation from both the State and cruel individuals. A bleaker vision of urban living than Irish cinema had previously seen, Pigs marked a departure for Irish cinema, giving voice to the lives of outsiders and outcasts Irish cinema had neglected.