Steve McQueen stared at a burned tower for 24 minutes so you can't look away.
In December 2017 Steve McQueen made an artwork in response to the fire that took place earlier that year on 14 June at Grenfell Tower in North Kensington, West London. 72 people died in the tragedy. Filming the tower before it was covered with hoarding, McQueen sought to create a record so that it would not be forgotten.
Direction
McQueen's refusal to narrate speaks louder than any voiceover could.
Cinematography
Single static shot becomes devastating monument to institutional failure.
Director
Steve McQueen
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
Grenfell Tower now symbolizes Britain's affordable housing crisis and the deadly cost of deregulation. McQueen, who grew minutes away, treats it as elegy and indictment simultaneously.
The 24-minute runtime mirrors a film reel's physical limit—McQueen forcing the medium itself to contain unbearable duration. The silence isn't empty; it's screaming.
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