The film is set in the future with a wacky sense of dress style. Katniss Everdeen is the protagonist of the series. She is sixteen years old, and is portrayed as quiet, independent and fierce. She has long dark hair, olive skin, and grey eyes. She lives with her mother and Primrose, her younger sister, in District 12, a coal-mining district and one of the poorer districts of Panem. Food is scarce in District 12 and Katniss hunts illegally to feed her family and to supplement their meager income. Her father was killed in a mining explosion when she was younger, and her mother fell into a deep depression. Throughout her life, she became hunting partners and best friends with Gale Hawthorne, who is also from her District and whose father was killed in the same mining accident as Katniss's. Haymitch Abernathy — Haymitch is Katniss' and Peeta's mentor. He is drunk at almost any given time, with a glass in one hand and a knife in the other. He drinks to forget the memories of the 50th Hunger Games, which he was crowned victor of. He won during the second Quarter Quell, when double the tributes were required to participate in this deadly game. He promised he would sober up long enough for Katniss and Peeta to play the Games and help them. He sends Katniss gifts throughout the games to help her survive, and sometimes Katniss believes that his gifts always seem to have good timing and there might be some kind of connection between them.
At the 74th Annual Hunger Games, Katniss's sister Prim's name is pulled by District 12 chaperone, Effie Trinket, but Katniss volunteers to take her sister's place. During the presentation of the tributes, her designer, Cinna, includes live flames in her costume. During the pre-Game interviews, Peeta, Katniss's fellow tribute from District 12, expresses his love for her on live television. Katniss assumes it is a ploy to gain attention from wealthy sponsors. Later, she begins to believe that his love is real, though she is uncertain of her own feelings. During the Games, Katniss forms a genuine friendship with Rue, a 12-year old girl who reminds Katniss of her sister. After the two form an alliance and a plan to destroy their enemies' supplies,