Irish Film Institute -International Film Directory – Film Listing

Men at Lunch (Lón sa Spéir)

    • Director

      Seán Ó Cualáin

    • Credits

      Producer: Eamonn Ó Cualáín

  • Category

    Documentary
    Irish Language

Amidst the Great Depression eleven New York workers sit on a girder and eat lunch in the famous ‘Lunch Atop A Skyscraper’ photograph which forms the subject of this documentary. Time is invested in authenticating the photograph and uncovering the workers’ identities; however Men at Lunch’s great interest is in understanding the spirit of New York City. The workers are used as a gateway to explore New York’s cultural melting pot and to understand how Irish, Jewish, African-American, Italian and other cultures came together physically and spiritually to build New York. Perched between social and personal history, director Seán Ó Cualáin finds New York’s high rise skyline symbols of people overcoming adversity in both past and present, from the Great Depression to the terrorist attacks on September 11th 2001.

Awards:
Special Irish Language Award at the 10th Irish Film and Television Awards 2013

71 minutes, Ireland, 2012, Colour/B&W


The IFI is supported
by The Arts Council

Arts Council of Ireland