Paul Laverty (born 1957) is a

screenwriter A screenplay writer (also called screenwriter, scriptwriter, scribe or scenarist) is a writer who practices the craft of screenwriting, writing screenplays on which mass media, such as films, television programs and video games, are based. ...

and lawyer best known for his screenplays for films 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 ...

Birth and early career

Paul Laverty was born in

Calcutta Kolkata (, or , ; also known as Calcutta , the official name until 2001) is the capital of the Indian state of West Bengal, on the eastern bank of the Hooghly River west of the border with Bangladesh. It is the primary business, commer ...

West Bengal West Bengal (, Bengali: ''Poshchim Bongo'', , abbr. WB) is a state in the eastern portion of India. It is situated along the Bay of Bengal, along with a population of over 91 million inhabitants within an area of . West Bengal is the fou ...

, to an Irish mother and Scottish father. He was educated at All Souls' School in

Wigtown Wigtown ( (both used locally); gd, Baile na h-Ùige) is a town and former royal burgh in Wigtownshire, of which it is the county town, within the Dumfries and Galloway region in Scotland. It lies east of Stranraer and south of Newton Stewart. ...

where he grew up. He obtained a philosophy degree at the

Gregorian University The Pontifical Gregorian University ( it, Pontificia Università Gregoriana; also known as the Gregorian or Gregoriana,) is a higher education ecclesiastical school (pontifical university) located in Rome, Italy. The Gregorian originated as ...

in Rome while studying for the priesthood at the Pontifical Scots College. Thereafter he obtained a law degree at

Strathclyde Law School Strathclyde Law School was established in 1964 and operates within the Faculty of Humanities & Social Sciences at the University of Strathclyde, in Glasgow, Scotland. The Law School currently operates from the Lord Hope Building (named after ...

, in Glasgow. During the mid-1980s, he travelled to

Nicaragua Nicaragua (; ), officially the Republic of Nicaragua (), is the largest country in Central America, bordered by Honduras to the north, the Caribbean to the east, Costa Rica to the south, and the Pacific Ocean to the west. Managua is the coun ...

and lived there for almost three years. He worked for a Nicaraguan domestic human rights organisation which provided hard evidence of human rights abuses during the war between the elected Nicaraguan Government (The

Sandinistas The Sandinista National Liberation Front ( es, Frente Sandinista de Liberación Nacional, FSLN) is a socialist political party in Nicaragua. Its members are called Sandinistas () in both English and Spanish. The party is named after Augusto ...

) and the United States backed "

Contras The Contras were the various U.S.-backed and funded right-wing rebel groups that were active from 1979 to 1990 in opposition to the Marxist Sandinista Junta of National Reconstruction Government in Nicaragua, which came to power in 1979 foll ...

" in which the subject of human rights became highly contested. Every major human rights organisation including

Amnesty Amnesty (from the Ancient Greek ἀμνηστία, ''amnestia'', "forgetfulness, passing over") is defined as "A pardon extended by the government to a group or class of people, usually for a political offense; the act of a sovereign power offici ...

and

Americas Watch The Americas, which are sometimes collectively called America, are a landmass comprising the totality of North and South America. The Americas make up most of the land in Earth's Western Hemisphere and comprise the New World. Along with th ...

accused the US backed contras of systematic abuse against Nicaraguan civilians. He travelled to the war-zones and obtained corroborated eyewitness accounts which were passed on to international human rights organisations. He also travelled widely in

El Salvador El Salvador (; , meaning " The Saviour"), officially the Republic of El Salvador ( es, República de El Salvador), is a country in Central America. It is bordered on the northeast by Honduras, on the northwest by Guatemala, and on the south ...

, during its civil war, and

Guatemala Guatemala ( ; ), officially the Republic of Guatemala ( es, República de Guatemala, links=no), is a country in Central America. It is bordered to the north and west by Mexico; to the northeast by Belize and the Caribbean; to the east by Hon ...

, too. (His interests in Latin America affairs continued much later with long research trips to

Chiapas Chiapas (; Tzotzil and Tzeltal: ''Chyapas'' ), officially the Free and Sovereign State of Chiapas ( es, Estado Libre y Soberano de Chiapas), is one of the states that make up the 32 federal entities of Mexico. It comprises 124 municipalities ...

in Mexico, and along the US-Mexican border concentrating on the city of Juárez.)

Scriptwriting

After his time in

Central America Central America ( es, América Central or ) is a subregion of the Americas. Its boundaries are defined as bordering the United States to the north, Colombia to the south, the Caribbean Sea to the east, and the Pacific Ocean to the west. ...

Laverty made contact with director Ken Loach for whom he wrote ''

Carla's Song ''Carla's Song'' is a 1996 film directed by Ken Loach and written by Paul Laverty, that deals with the impact of the Contra War in Nicaragua. It is a United Kingdom–Spain–Germany co-production. Plot Set in 1987, Carla's Song tells the st ...

'' (1996), his first screenplay, which starred

Robert Carlyle Robert Carlyle (born 14 April 1961) is a Scottish actor. His film work includes '' Trainspotting'' (1996), ''The Full Monty'' (1997), ''The World Is Not Enough'' (1999), ''Angela's Ashes'' (1999), '' The Beach'' (2000), ''28 Weeks Later'' (20 ...

. For his acting in ''

My Name is Joe ''My Name Is Joe'' is a 1998 British romantic drama film directed by Ken Loach. The film stars Peter Mullan as Joe Kavanagh, an unemployed recovering alcoholic in Glasgow, Scotland who meets and falls in love with a health visitor, played b ...

'' (1998),

Peter Mullan Peter Mullan (; born 2 November 1959) is a Scottish actor and filmmaker. He is best known for his role in Ken Loach's ''My Name Is Joe'' (1998), for which he won Best Actor Award at 1998 Cannes Film Festival, 2000's '' The Claim'' and all th ...

won the Best Actor award at the 2000

Cannes Film Festival The Cannes Festival (; french: link=no, Festival de Cannes), until 2003 called the International Film Festival (') and known in English as the Cannes Film Festival, is an annual film festival held in Cannes, France, which previews new films ...

. ''

Bread and Roses "Bread and Roses" is a political slogan as well as the name of an associated poem and song. It originated from a speech given by American women's suffrage activist Helen Todd; a line in that speech about "bread for all, and roses too" inspired ...

'' (2000), detailing the experiences of migrant labour, was shot in

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world ...

, and featured

Adrien Brody Adrien Nicholas Brody (born April 14, 1973) is an American actor. He received widespread recognition and acclaim after starring as Władysław Szpilman in Roman Polanski's '' The Pianist'' (2002), for which he won the Academy Award for Best Acto ...

in a leading role. Laverty's next script, '' Sweet Sixteen'' (2002) won

best screenplay Best or The Best may refer to: People * Best (surname), people with the surname Best * Best (footballer, born 1968), retired Portuguese footballer Companies and organizations * Best & Co., an 1879–1971 clothing chain * Best Lock Corporation, ...

award in the

2002 Cannes Film Festival The 55th Cannes Film Festival started on 15 May and ran until 26 May 2002. The Palme d'Or went to the Polish-French-German-British co-produced film '' The Pianist'' directed by Roman Polanski. The festival opened with '' Hollywood Ending'', direct ...

. The two men collaborated on '' The Wind That Shakes the Barley'' (2006) which concerns

Irish War of Independence The Irish War of Independence () or Anglo-Irish War was a guerrilla war fought in Ireland from 1919 to 1921 between the Irish Republican Army (IRA, the army of the Irish Republic) and British forces: the British Army, along with the quasi-mil ...

in early 1920s. The film won the

Palme d'Or The Palme d'Or (; en, Golden Palm) is the highest prize awarded at the Cannes Film Festival. It was introduced in 1955 by the festival's organizing committee. Previously, from 1939 to 1954, the festival's highest prize was the Grand Prix du Fe ...

at the 2006 Cannes Film Festival. Laverty has written eight full-length feature scripts and one short directed by Ken Loach. Both work closely with producer

Rebecca O'Brien Rebecca O'Brien (born 1957) is a BAFTA-winning film producer, known especially for her work with Ken Loach. O'Brien was born in London, England. Together with Loach and scriptwriter Paul Laverty, she runs the production company Sixteen Films, ...

. Loach's comedy featuring the French footballer Eric Cantona, ''

Looking for Eric ''Looking for Eric'' is a 2009 British-French film about the escape from the trials of modern life that football and its heroes can bring for its fans. It was written by screenwriter Paul Laverty and directed by the English director Ken Loach. ...

'' (2009), is a collaborative effort with Laverty, as is his film about mercenaries in Iraq, ''

Route Irish The Baghdad Airport Road is a 12-kilometre (7.5 mi) stretch of highway in Baghdad, Iraq linking the Green Zone, a heavily fortified area at the centre of Baghdad, to Baghdad International Airport (BIAP). It also links different parts of Bagh ...

'' (2010).

Personal life

Laverty has been in a relationship with Spanish filmmaker and actress

Icíar Bollaín Icíar Bollaín Pérez-Mínguez (born 12 June 1967) is a Spanish filmmaker and actress. Early life and education Icíar Bollaín Pérez-Mínguez was born in Madrid on 12 June 1967. She was one of twin girls to a father who was an aeronautical ...

since 1995, after meeting on the set of Ken Loach's '' Land and Freedom'' (1995). The couple live in

Edinburgh Edinburgh ( ; gd, Dùn Èideann ) is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. Historically part of the county of Midlothian (interchangeably Edinburghshire before 1921), it is located in Lothian ...

with their three children.

Filmography

* ''

'' (1996) * ''

'' (1998) * ''

'' (2000) * '' Sweet Sixteen'' (2002) * ''

11'09"01 September 11 ''11'09"1 September 11'' is a 2002 international film composed of 11 contributions from different filmmakers, each from a different country. Each gave their own vision of the events in New York City during the September 11 attacks, in a short ...

'' (2002) (UK Segment) * '' Ae Fond Kiss...'' (2004) * ''

Tickets Ticket or tickets may refer to: Slips of paper * Lottery ticket * Parking ticket, a ticket confirming that the parking fee was paid (and the time of the parking start) * Toll ticket, a slip of paper used to indicate where vehicles entered a tol ...

'' (2005) * ''

Cargo Cargo consists of bulk goods conveyed by water, air, or land. In economics, freight is cargo that is transported at a freight rate for commercial gain. ''Cargo'' was originally a shipload but now covers all types of freight, including tra ...

'' (2006) * '' The Wind That Shakes the Barley'' (2006) * '' It's a Free World...'' (2007) * ''

'' (2009) * ''

'' (2010) * '' También la lluvia'' (2010) * '' The Angels' Share'' (2012) * ''

Jimmy's Hall ''Jimmy's Hall'' is a 2014 drama film directed by Ken Loach. The film tells the story of the deportation to the United States in 1933 of Irish Communist Jimmy Gralton, who led the Revolutionary Workers' Group, a precursor of the Communist Part ...

'' (2014) * ''

I, Daniel Blake ''I, Daniel Blake'' is a 2016 drama film written by Paul Laverty and directed by Ken Loach. The film stars Dave Johns as Daniel Blake, a middle-aged man who is denied Employment and Support Allowance despite being declared unfit to work by his ...

'' (2016) * '' The Olive Tree'' (2016) * '' Yuli: The Carlos Acosta Story'' (2018) * ''

Sorry We Missed You ''Sorry We Missed You'' is a 2019 drama film written by Paul Laverty and directed by Ken Loach. Principal photography began in Newcastle upon Tyne and the surrounding areas in September 2018. It was selected to compete for the Palme d'Or at th ...

'' (2019)

References

External links

*
Paul Laverty Interview on The Señales de Humo
{{DEFAULTSORT:Laverty, Paul 1957 births Living people Alumni of the University of Strathclyde People from Kolkata Scottish human rights activists Scottish lawyers Scottish people of Irish descent Scottish screenwriters Cannes Film Festival Award for Best Screenplay winners