''Family Life'' (US: ''Wednesday's Child'') is a 1971 British

drama film In film and television, drama is a category or genre of narrative fiction (or semi-fiction) intended to be more serious than humorous in tone. Drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional terms that specify its particular super ...

directed by

Ken Loach Kenneth Charles Loach (born 17 June 1936) is a British film director and screenwriter. His socially critical directing style and socialist ideals are evident in his film treatment of social issues such as poverty ('' Poor Cow'', 1967), homelessn ...

from a screenplay by David Mercer. It is a remake of '' In Two Minds'', an episode of the BBC's '' Wednesday Play'' series first transmitted by the BBC in March 1967, which was also written by Mercer and directed by Loach.

Plot

A young woman, Janice, is living with her conservative, working-class parents, who become concerned at her rebellious behaviour, and are shocked when she becomes pregnant. At a time when pregnancy and being unmarried were widely considered shameful, they insist she has an abortion, but this has terrible emotional and mental effects on her. They constantly berate her for her behaviour, even when they visit her in hospital.

Cast

Production

Half the budget was provided by the National Film Finance Corporation the other half by

Nat Cohen Nat Cohen (23 December 1905 – 10 February 1988)William D. Rubinstein, et al (eds.''The Palgrave Dictionary of Anglo-Jewish History'' Palgrave Macmillan, 2011, p.171 was a British film producer and executive. For over four decades he was one of t ...

and

Anglo-EMI EMI Films was a British film studio and distributor. A subsidiary of the EMI conglomerate, the corporate name was not used throughout the entire period of EMI's involvement in the film industry, from 1969 to 1986, but the company's brief conne ...

. The film was screened at the

New York Film Festival The New York Film Festival (NYFF) is a film festival held every fall in New York City, presented by Film at Lincoln Center (FLC). Founded in 1963 by Richard Roud and Amos Vogel with the support of Lincoln Center president William Schuman, i ...

on 3 October 1972.

Awards

Won

* 1972 Berlin International Film Festival: **FIPRESCI Prize – Forum of New Film:

**Interfilm Award – Forum of New Cinema:

**OCIC Award – Forum of New Film:

* French Syndicate of Cinema Critics 1974: **Critics Award – Best Foreign Film:

(UK) *

Sydney Film Festival The Sydney Film Festival is an annual competitive film festival held in Sydney, Australia, usually over 12 days in June. A number of awards are given, the top one being the Sydney Film Prize. the festival's director is Nashen Moodley. Histo ...

2003: **Audience Award – Best Feature-Length Fiction Film:

Nominated

* BAFTA Awards 1973: **UN Award – Best Film

References

External links

* * 1971 films 1971 drama films Films about sexual repression Films directed by Ken Loach Films scored by Marc Wilkinson British drama films EMI Films films Films about abortion 1970s English-language films 1970s British films {{1970s-UK-film-stub