Kenneth Charles Loach (born 17 June 1936) is a retired
[https://variety.com/2024/film/global/ken-loach-retirement-the-old-oak-jonathan-glazer-oscars-speech-1235956589/] English filmmaker. His socially critical directing style and
socialist
Socialism is an economic ideology, economic and political philosophy encompassing diverse Economic system, economic and social systems characterised by social ownership of the means of production, as opposed to private ownership. It describes ...
views are evident in his film treatment of social issues such as poverty (''
Poor Cow
''Poor Cow'' (also known as ''No Tears for Joy'') is a 1967 British kitchen sink drama film directed by Ken Loach and starring Carol White and Terence Stamp. It was written by Loach and Nell Dunn based on Dunn's 1967 novel of the same na ...
'', 1967), homelessness (''
Cathy Come Home
"Cathy Come Home" is a 1966 BBC television play about homelessness. It was written by Jeremy Sandford, produced by Tony Garnett and directed by Ken Loach. A 1998 ''Radio Times'' readers' poll voted it the "best single television drama" and a 200 ...
'', 1966), and
labour rights
Labor rights or workers' rights are both legal rights and human rights relating to labor relations between workers and employers. These rights are codified in national and international labor and employment law. In general, the ...
(''
Riff-Raff'', 1991, and ''
The Navigators'', 2001).
Loach's film ''
Kes'' (1969) was voted the
seventh greatest British film of the 20th century in a poll by the
British Film Institute
The British Film Institute (BFI) is a film and television charitable organisation which promotes and preserves filmmaking and television in the United Kingdom. The BFI uses funds provided by the National Lottery to encourage film production, ...
. Two of his films, ''
The Wind That Shakes the Barley'' (2006) and ''
I, Daniel Blake'' (2016), received the
Palme d'Or
The (; ) is the highest prize awarded to the director of the Best Feature Film of the Official Competition at the Cannes Film Festival. It was introduced in 1955 by the festival's organizing committee. Previously, from 1939 to 1954, the festiv ...
at the
Cannes Film Festival
The Cannes Film Festival (; ), until 2003 called the International Film Festival ('), is the most prestigious film festival in the world.
Held in Cannes, France, it previews new films of all genres, including documentaries, from all around ...
, making him one of only ten filmmakers to win the award twice. He also holds the record for the most films screened in the main competition at Cannes with 15.
Early life
Kenneth Charles Loach was born in
Nuneaton
Nuneaton ( ) is a market town in Warwickshire, England, close to the county border with Leicestershire to the north-east.OS Explorer Map 232 : Nuneaton & Tamworth: (1:25 000) : Nuneaton's population at the 2021 United Kingdom census, 2021 censu ...
, Warwickshire on 17 June 1936, the son of Vivien (
née
The birth name is the name of the person given upon their birth. The term may be applied to the surname, the given name or to the entire name. Where births are required to be officially registered, the entire name entered onto a births registe ...
Hamlin) and John Loach. He attended
King Edward VI Grammar School and joined the
Royal Air Force
The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the Air force, air and space force of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. It was formed towards the end of the World War I, First World War on 1 April 1918, on the merger of t ...
at the age of 19.
He later read law at
St Peter's College, Oxford,
[Ken Loach at Sixteen Films]
. Retrieved 31 July 2016 graduating with a
third-class degree
The British undergraduate degree classification system is a grading structure used for undergraduate degrees or bachelor's degrees and integrated master's degrees in the United Kingdom. The system has been applied, sometimes with significant va ...
.
As a member of the
Experimental Theatre Club, he directed a 1959 open-air production of ''
Bartholomew Fair
The Bartholomew Fair was one of London's pre-eminent summer charter fairs. A charter for the fair was granted by King Henry I to fund the Priory of St Bartholomew in 1133. It took place each year on 24 August (St Bartholomew's Day) within the p ...
'' for the
Shakespeare Memorial Theatre, in which he also starred as Dan Jordan Knockem.
Career
Loach first worked as an actor in regional theatre companies and then as a director for
BBC Television
BBC Television is a service of the BBC. The corporation has operated a Public service broadcasting in the United Kingdom, public broadcast television service in the United Kingdom, under the terms of a royal charter, since 1 January 1927. It p ...
. His 10 contributions to the BBC's ''
Wednesday Play'' anthology series include the docudramas ''
Up the Junction'' (1965), ''
Cathy Come Home
"Cathy Come Home" is a 1966 BBC television play about homelessness. It was written by Jeremy Sandford, produced by Tony Garnett and directed by Ken Loach. A 1998 ''Radio Times'' readers' poll voted it the "best single television drama" and a 200 ...
'' (1966) and ''
In Two Minds'' (1967). They portray working-class people in conflict with the authorities above them. Three of his early plays are believed to be
lost.
His 1965 play ''Three Clear Sundays'' dealt with capital punishment, and was broadcast at a time when the debate was at a height in the United Kingdom. ''Up the Junction'', adapted by
Nell Dunn from her book with the assistance of Loach, deals with an illegal abortion while the leading characters in ''Cathy Come Home'', by
Jeremy Sandford, are affected by homelessness, unemployment, and the workings of Social Services. ''In Two Minds'', written by
David Mercer, concerns a young
schizophrenic
Schizophrenia () is a mental disorder characterized variously by hallucinations (typically, Auditory hallucination#Schizophrenia, hearing voices), delusions, thought disorder, disorganized thinking and behavior, and Reduced affect display, f ...
woman's experiences of the mental health system.
Tony Garnett began to work as his producer in this period, a professional connection which would last until the end of the 1970s.
During this period, Loach also directed the absurdist comedy ''
The End of Arthur's Marriage'', about which he later said that he was "the wrong man for the job".
Coinciding with his work for ''The Wednesday Play'', Loach began to direct feature films for the cinema, with ''
Poor Cow
''Poor Cow'' (also known as ''No Tears for Joy'') is a 1967 British kitchen sink drama film directed by Ken Loach and starring Carol White and Terence Stamp. It was written by Loach and Nell Dunn based on Dunn's 1967 novel of the same na ...
'' (1967) and ''
Kes'' (1969).
The latter recounts the story of a troubled boy and his
kestrel
The term kestrel (from , derivative from , i.e. ratchet) is the common name given to several species of predatory birds from the falcon genus ''Falco''. Kestrels are most easily distinguished by their typical hunting behaviour which is to hover ...
, and is based on the novel ''
A Kestrel for a Knave'' by
Barry Hines. The film was well received, although the use of
Yorkshire dialect
Yorkshire dialect, also known as Yorkshire English, Broad Yorkshire, Tyke, or Yorkie, is a grouping of several regionally neighbouring Dialect, dialects of English language, English spoken in Yorkshire. Yorkshire experienced drastic dialect ...
throughout the film restricted its distribution, with some American executives at
United Artists
United Artists (UA) is an American film production and film distribution, distribution company owned by Amazon MGM Studios. In its original operating period, it was founded in February 1919 by Charlie Chaplin, D. W. Griffith, Mary Pickford an ...
saying that they would have found a film in Hungarian easier to understand. The
British Film Institute
The British Film Institute (BFI) is a film and television charitable organisation which promotes and preserves filmmaking and television in the United Kingdom. The BFI uses funds provided by the National Lottery to encourage film production, ...
named it No 7 in its list of best British films of the twentieth century, published in 1999.
During the 1970s and 1980s, Loach's films were less successful, often suffering from poor distribution, lack of interest and political censorship. His documentary ''
The Save the Children Fund Film'' (1971) was commissioned by
the charity, who subsequently disliked it so much they attempted to have the negative destroyed. It was only screened publicly for the first time on 1 September 2011, at the BFI Southbank. During the 1980s Loach concentrated on television documentaries rather than fiction, and many of these films are now difficult to access as the television companies have not released them on video or DVD. At the end of the 1980s, he directed some television advertisements for
Tennent's Lager to earn money.
''
Days of Hope'' (1975) is a four-part drama for the BBC directed by Loach from scripts by dramatist
Jim Allen. The first episode of the series caused considerable controversy in the British media owing to its critical depiction of the military in
World War I
World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...
, and particularly over a scene where conscientious objectors were tied up to stakes outside trenches in view of enemy fire after refusing to obey orders.
[Days of Hope](_blank)
Tony Williams, Cinémathèque Annotations on Film, Issue 31, April 2004 An ex-serviceman subsequently contacted ''
The Times
''The Times'' is a British Newspaper#Daily, daily Newspaper#National, national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its modern name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its si ...
'' newspaper with an illustration from the time of a similar scene.
Loach's documentary ''A Question of Leadership'' (1981) interviewed members of the
Iron and Steel Trades Confederation (the main trade union for Britain's steel industry) about their 14-week strike in 1980, and recorded much criticism of the union's leadership for conceding over the issues in the strike. Subsequently, Loach made a four-part series named ''Questions of Leadership'' which subjected the leadership of other trade unions to similar scrutiny from their members, but this has never been broadcast.
Frank Chapple, leader of the
Electrical, Electronic, Telecommunications and Plumbing Union, walked out of the interview and made a complaint to the
Independent Broadcasting Authority
The Independent Broadcasting Authority (IBA) was the regulatory body in the United Kingdom for commercial television ( ITV and Channel 4 and limited satellite television regulation – cable television was the responsibility of the Cable Author ...
. A separate complaint was made by
Terry Duffy of the
Amalgamated Engineering and Electrical Union. The series was due to be broadcast during the
Trade Union Congress conference in 1983, but
Channel 4
Channel 4 is a British free-to-air public broadcast television channel owned and operated by Channel Four Television Corporation. It is state-owned enterprise, publicly owned but, unlike the BBC, it receives no public funding and is funded en ...
decided against broadcasting the series following the complaints.
Anthony Hayward claimed in 2004 that the media tycoon
Robert Maxwell
Ian Robert Maxwell (born Ján Ludvík Hyman Binyamin Hoch; 10 June 1923 – 5 November 1991) was a Czechoslovakia, Czechoslovak-born British media proprietor, politician and fraudster.
After escaping the German occupation of Czechoslovakia, ...
had put pressure on
Central Television's board (Central was the successor to the original production company
Associated Television
ATV Network Limited, originally Associated TeleVision (ATV), was a British broadcaster, part of the ITV (TV network), ITV (Independent Television) network. It provided a service to London at weekends from 1955 to 1968, to the Midlands on week ...
), of which he had become a director, to withdraw ''Questions of Leadership'' at the time he was buying the ''
Daily Mirror
The ''Daily Mirror'' is a British national daily Tabloid journalism, tabloid newspaper. Founded in 1903, it is part of Mirror Group Newspapers (MGN), which is owned by parent company Reach plc. From 1985 to 1987, and from 1997 to 2002, the tit ...
'' newspaper and needed the co-operation of union leaders, especially Chapple.
''Which Side Are You On?'' (1985), about the songs and poems of the
UK miners' strike, was originally due to be broadcast on ''
The South Bank Show'', but was rejected on the grounds that it was too politically unbalanced for an arts show. The documentary was eventually transmitted on Channel 4, but only after it won a prize at an Italian film festival.
Three weeks after the end of the strike, the film ''End of the Battle ... Not the End of the War?'' was broadcast by Channel 4 in its ''Diverse Strands'' series. This film argued that the
Conservative Party had planned the destruction of the
National Union of Mineworkers' political power from the late 1970s.
In 1989, Loach directed a short documentary ''Time to go'' that called for the British Army to be withdrawn from Northern Ireland, which was broadcast in the BBC's ''Split Screen'' series.
From the late 1980s, Loach directed theatrical feature films more regularly, a series of films such as ''
Hidden Agenda'' (1990), dealing with the political troubles in Northern Ireland, ''
Land and Freedom'' (1995), examining the
Republican resistance in the
Spanish Civil War
The Spanish Civil War () was a military conflict fought from 1936 to 1939 between the Republican faction (Spanish Civil War), Republicans and the Nationalist faction (Spanish Civil War), Nationalists. Republicans were loyal to the Left-wing p ...
, and ''
Carla's Song'' (1996), which was set partially in
Nicaragua
Nicaragua, officially the Republic of Nicaragua, is the geographically largest Sovereign state, country in Central America, comprising . With a population of 7,142,529 as of 2024, it is the third-most populous country in Central America aft ...
. He directed the
courtroom drama
Legal drama, also called courtroom drama, is a genre of film and television that generally focuses on narratives regarding legal practice and the justice system. The American Film Institute (AFI) defines "courtroom drama" as a genre of film in wh ...
reconstructions in the docu-film ''
McLibel'', concerning
McDonald's Restaurants v Morris & Steel, the longest libel trial in English history. Interspersed with political films were more intimate works such as ''
Raining Stones'' (1993), a working-class drama concerning an unemployed man's efforts to buy a
communion dress for his young daughter.
On 28 May 2006, Loach won the
Palme d'Or
The (; ) is the highest prize awarded to the director of the Best Feature Film of the Official Competition at the Cannes Film Festival. It was introduced in 1955 by the festival's organizing committee. Previously, from 1939 to 1954, the festiv ...
at the
2006 Cannes Film Festival
The 59th Cannes Film Festival was held from 17 to 28 May 2006. Chinese filmmaker Wong Kar-wai served as jury president for the main competition, the first Chinese to preside over the jury. English filmmaker Ken Loach won the Palme d'Or for th ...
for his film ''
The Wind That Shakes the Barley'',
a political-historical drama about the
Irish War of Independence
The Irish War of Independence (), also known as the Anglo-Irish War, was a guerrilla war fought in Ireland from 1919 to 1921 between the Irish Republican Army (1919–1922), Irish Republican Army (IRA, the army of the Irish Republic) and Unite ...
and the subsequent
Irish Civil War
The Irish Civil War (; 28 June 1922 – 24 May 1923) was a conflict that followed the Irish War of Independence and accompanied the establishment of the Irish Free State, an entity independent from the United Kingdom but within the British Emp ...
during the 1920s. Like ''Hidden Agenda'' before it, ''The Wind That Shakes the Barley'' was criticised by
Ruth Dudley Edwards for allegedly being too sympathetic to the
Irish Republican Army
The Irish Republican Army (IRA) is a name used by various Resistance movement, resistance organisations in Ireland throughout the 20th and 21st centuries. Organisations by this name have been dominantly Catholic and dedicated to anti-imperiali ...
and
Provisional Irish Republican Army
The Provisional Irish Republican Army (Provisional IRA), officially known as the Irish Republican Army (IRA; ) and informally known as the Provos, was an Irish republican paramilitary force that sought to end British rule in Northern Ireland ...
, though it would transpire that Edwards had not seen the film.
This film was followed by ''
It's a Free World...'' (2007), a story of one woman's attempt to establish an illegal placement service for migrant workers in London.
Throughout the 2000s, Loach interspersed wider political dramas such as ''
Bread and Roses'' (2000), which focused on the
Los Angeles janitors strike, and ''
Route Irish'' (2010), set during the
Iraq occupation, with smaller examinations of personal relationships. ''
Ae Fond Kiss...'' (a.k.a. ''Just a Kiss'', 2004) explored an inter-racial love affair, ''
Sweet Sixteen'' (2002) concerns a teenager's relationship with his mother and ''
My Name Is Joe'' (1998) an alcoholic's struggle to stay sober. His most commercial later film is ''
Looking for Eric
''Looking for Eric'' is a 2009 sports comedy-drama film directed by Ken Loach and written by Paul Laverty. It is an international co-production between the United Kingdom, France, Italy, Belgium, and Spain. It stars Steve Evets, Eric Cantona ...
'' (2009), featuring a depressed postman's conversations with the ex-
Manchester United
Manchester United Football Club, commonly referred to as Man United (often stylised as Man Utd) or simply United, is a professional association football, football club based in Old Trafford (area), Old Trafford, Greater Manchester, Engl ...
footballer
Eric Cantona appearing as himself. The film won the
Magritte Award for Best Co-Production. Although successful in Manchester, the film was a flop in many other cities, especially cities with rival football teams to Manchester United.
''
The Angels' Share'' (2012) is centered on a young Scottish troublemaker who is given a final opportunity to stay out of jail. Newcomer
Paul Brannigan, then 24, from Glasgow, played the lead role. The film competed for the Palme d'Or at the
2012 Cannes Film Festival
The 65th Cannes Film Festival took place from 16 to 27 May 2012. Italian filmmaker Nanni Moretti was the president of the jury for the main competition. French actress Bérénice Bejo hosted the opening and closing ceremonies. Austrian filmma ...
where Loach won the
Jury Prize.
''
Jimmy's Hall'' (2014) was selected to compete for the Palme d'Or in the main competition section at the
2014 Cannes Film Festival.
Loach announced his retirement from film-making in 2014 but soon after restarted his career following the election of a Conservative government in the
UK general election of 2015.
Loach won his second Palme d'Or for ''
I, Daniel Blake'' (2016). In February 2017, the film was awarded a
BAFTA
The British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA, ) is an independent trade association and charity that supports, develops, and promotes the arts of film, television and video games in the United Kingdom. In addition to its annual awa ...
as "Outstanding British Film".
His 2019 drama ''
Sorry We Missed You'' garnered positive reviews.
In April 2024, Loach confirmed that his 2023 film ''
The Old Oak'' would be his last.
Film style

In May 2010, Loach referred in an interview to the three films that have influenced him most:
Vittorio De Sica
Vittorio De Sica ( , ; 7 July 1901 – 13 November 1974) was an Italian film director and actor, a leading figure in the neorealist movement.
Widely considered one of the most influential filmmakers in the history of cinema, four of the fil ...
's ''
Bicycle Thieves'' (1948),
Miloš Forman
Jan Tomáš "Miloš" Forman (; ; 18 February 1932 – 13 April 2018) was a Czech Americans, Czech-American film film director, director, screenwriter, actor, and professor who rose to fame in his native Czechoslovakia before emigrating to the Uni ...
's ''
Loves of a Blonde'' (1965) and
Gillo Pontecorvo
Gilberto Pontecorvo (; 19 November 1919 – 12 October 2006) was an Italian filmmaker associated with the political cinema movement of the 1960s and 1970s. He is best known for directing the landmark war docudrama '' The Battle of Algiers'' (19 ...
's ''
The Battle of Algiers'' (1966). De Sica's film had a particularly profound effect. He noted: "It made me realise that cinema could be about ordinary people and their dilemmas. It wasn't a film about stars, or riches or absurd adventures".
Throughout his career, some of Loach's films have been shelved for political reasons. In a 2011 interview with ''
The Guardian
''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...
'' newspaper he said:
Loach argues that working people's struggles are inherently dramatic:
A thematic consistency throughout his films, whether they examine broad political situations or smaller intimate dramas, is his focus on personal relationships. The sweeping political dramas (''Land and Freedom'', ''Bread and Roses'', ''The Wind that Shakes the Barley'') examine wider political forces in the context of relationships between family members (''Bread and Roses'', ''The Wind that Shakes the Barley'', ''Carla's Song''), comrades in struggle (''Land and Freedom'') or close friends (''Route Irish''). In a 2011 interview for the ''
Financial Times
The ''Financial Times'' (''FT'') is a British daily newspaper printed in broadsheet and also published digitally that focuses on business and economic Current affairs (news format), current affairs. Based in London, the paper is owned by a Jap ...
'', Loach explains how "The politics are embedded into the characters and the narrative, which is a more sophisticated way of doing it".
Many of Loach's films include a large amount of traditional
dialect
A dialect is a Variety (linguistics), variety of language spoken by a particular group of people. This may include dominant and standard language, standardized varieties as well as Vernacular language, vernacular, unwritten, or non-standardize ...
, such as the
Yorkshire dialect
Yorkshire dialect, also known as Yorkshire English, Broad Yorkshire, Tyke, or Yorkie, is a grouping of several regionally neighbouring Dialect, dialects of English language, English spoken in Yorkshire. Yorkshire experienced drastic dialect ...
in ''Kes'' and in ''
The Price of Coal'',
Cockney
Cockney is a dialect of the English language, mainly spoken in London and its environs, particularly by Londoners with working-class and lower middle class roots. The term ''Cockney'' is also used as a demonym for a person from the East End, ...
in ''
Up the Junction'' and ''
Poor Cow
''Poor Cow'' (also known as ''No Tears for Joy'') is a 1967 British kitchen sink drama film directed by Ken Loach and starring Carol White and Terence Stamp. It was written by Loach and Nell Dunn based on Dunn's 1967 novel of the same na ...
'',
Scouse
Scouse ( ), more formally known as Liverpool English or Merseyside English, is an Accent (dialect), accent and dialect of English language, English associated with the city of Liverpool and the surrounding Merseyside. The Scouse accent is h ...
in ''
The Big Flame'',
Lancashire dialect
The Lancashire dialect (or colloquially, Lanky) refers to the Northern English vernacular speech of the English county of Lancashire. The region is notable for its tradition of poetry written in the dialect.
Scope of Lancashire dialect
...
in ''Raining Stones'',
Glaswegian in ''
My Name Is Joe'' and the dialect of
Greenock
Greenock (; ; , ) is a town in Inverclyde, Scotland, located in the west central Lowlands of Scotland. The town is the administrative centre of Inverclyde Council. It is a former burgh within the historic county of Renfrewshire, and forms ...
in ''
Sweet Sixteen''. Many of these films have been subtitled when shown in other English-speaking countries.
When asked about this in an interview with Cineaste, Loach replied:
Loach was amongst the first British directors to use
swearing in his films.
Mary Whitehouse
Constance Mary Whitehouse (; 13 June 1910 – 23 November 2001) was a British teacher and conservative activist. She campaigned against social liberalism and the mainstream British media, both of which she accused of encouraging a more permis ...
complained about swearing in ''Cathy Come Home'' and ''Up the Junction'', while ''
The Big Flame'' (1969) for the BBC was an early instance of the word ''shit'', and the certificate to ''Kes'' caused some debate owing to the profanity, but these films have relatively few swear words compared to his later work. In particular, the film ''Sweet Sixteen'' was awarded an
18 certificate on the basis of the very large amount of swearing, despite the lack of serious violence or sexual content, which led Loach to encourage under-18s to break the law to see the film.
In a 2014 article, feminist writer
Julie Bindel criticised Loach's recent films for a lack of female characters who were not simply love interests for the male characters, although she praised his early films ''Cathy Come Home'' and ''Kes''.
She also wrote, "Loach appears not to know gay people exist".
In the article, Bindel stated that she "hadn’t seen a Ken Loach film in years", and only made reference to the content of one of Loach's films in support of her argument, the then-recently released ''Jimmy's Hall''.
Political activities
Affiliations before 2015
Loach first joined the
Labour Party from the early 1960s. In the 1980s, he was in the Labour Party because of the presence of "a radical element that was critical of the leadership", but Loach had left the Labour Party by the early to mid-1990s, after being a member for 30 years.
During the 1960s and 1970s, he was associated with (or a member of) the Socialist Labour League (later the
Workers Revolutionary Party),
the International Socialists (later the
Socialist Workers Party or SWP)
and the
International Marxist Group.
He was involved in
Respect – The Unity Coalition from its beginnings in January 2004, and stood for election to the
European Parliament
The European Parliament (EP) is one of the two legislative bodies of the European Union and one of its seven institutions. Together with the Council of the European Union (known as the Council and informally as the Council of Ministers), it ...
on the Respect list in 2004. Loach was elected to the national council of Respect the following November.
When Respect split in 2007, Loach identified with
Respect Renewal
Respect Renewal was a faction that existed during the 2007-8 split within Respect – The Unity Coalition, a UK political party.
Respect Renewal was led by Linda Smith, the National Chair, Leader and Nominating Officer of Respect, and was formed ...
, the faction identified with
George Galloway. Later, his connection with Respect ended.
Together with
John Pilger and
Jemima Khan, Loach was among the six people in court who offered
surety
In finance, a surety , surety bond, or guaranty involves a promise by one party to assume responsibility for the debt obligation of a borrower if that borrower defaults. Usually, a surety bond or surety is a promise by a person or company (a ''sure ...
for
Julian Assange
Julian Paul Assange ( ; Hawkins; born 3 July 1971) is an Australian editor, publisher, and activist who founded WikiLeaks in 2006. He came to international attention in 2010 after WikiLeaks published a series of News leak, leaks from Chels ...
when he was arrested in London on 7 December 2010. The money was forfeited when Assange skipped bail to seek asylum in the
Embassy of Ecuador, London.
Loach supported the
Trade Unionist and Socialist Coalition
Trade involves the transfer of goods and services from one person or entity to another, often in exchange for money. Economists refer to a system or network that allows trade as a market.
Traders generally negotiate through a medium of cred ...
in the
2012 London Assembly election
The London Assembly election of 2012 was an election of members to the London Assembly which took place on Thursday, 3 May 2012, the same day as the 2012 London mayoral election, and the 2012 United Kingdom local elections. Although Conservati ...
. With the support of the activist
Kate Hudson
Kate Garry Hudson (born April 19, 1979) is an American actress and singer. Born to singer Bill Hudson (singer), Bill Hudson and actress Goldie Hawn, Hudson made her film debut in the 1998 drama ''Desert Blue'', which was followed by supporting ...
and academic
Gilbert Achcar, Loach launched a campaign in March 2013 for a new left-wing party which was founded as
Left Unity on 30 November. Left Unity candidates gained an average of 3.2% in the
2014 local elections.
[ ] Loach gave a press conference during the launch of Left Unity's manifesto for the
2015 general election.
Campaign for boycott of Israel
In a letter sent to ''The Guardian'' in 2009, Loach advocated support for the
Palestine Campaign for the Academic and Cultural Boycott of Israel (PACBI) along with his regular colleagues
Paul Laverty (writer) and
Rebecca O'Brien (producer).
[ Loach made an earlier announcement in 2006, see ]
In 2007, Loach was one of more than 100 artists and writers who signed an open letter calling on the
San Francisco International LGBT Film Festival "to honour calls for an
international boycott of Israeli political and cultural institutions, by discontinuing Israeli consulate sponsorship of the LGBT film festival and not co-sponsoring events with the Israeli consulate". Loach also joined "54 international figures in the literary and cultural fields" in signing a letter that stated, in part, "celebrating 'Israel at 60' is tantamount to dancing on Palestinian graves to the haunting tune of lingering dispossession and multi-faceted injustice". The letter was published in the ''
International Herald Tribune
The ''International Herald Tribune'' (''IHT'') was a daily English-language newspaper published in Paris, France, for international English-speaking readers. It published under the name ''International Herald Tribune'' starting in 1967, but its ...
'' on 8 May 2008.
Responding to a report, which Loach described as "a
red herring
A red herring is something that misleads or distracts from a relevant or important question. It may be either a logical fallacy or a literary device that leads readers or audiences toward a false conclusion. A red herring may be used intentiona ...
", on the growth of antisemitism since the beginning of the
Gaza War of 2008–2009, he said: "If there has been a rise I am not surprised. In fact, it is perfectly understandable because Israel feeds feelings of anti-Semitism". He added that "no-one can condone violence". Speaking at the launch of the
Russell Tribunal on Palestine on 4 March 2009, he said that "nothing has been a greater instigator of antisemitism than the self-proclaimed Jewish state itself".
In May 2009, organisers of the
Edinburgh International Film Festival
The Edinburgh International Film Festival (EIFF), established in 1947, is the world's oldest continually running film festival.
EIFF presents both UK and international films (all titles are World, international, European or UK Premieres), in al ...
(EIFF) returned a £300 grant from the Israeli Embassy to fund Israeli filmmaker
Tali Shalom Ezer's travel to Edinburgh after speaking with Loach. He was supporting a boycott of the festival called for by the PACBI campaign. In response, former Channel 4 chief executive
Jeremy Isaacs
Sir Jeremy Israel Isaacs (born 28 September 1932) is a Scottish television producer and executive, and an opera manager.
Following a career at Granada Television, the BBC and Thames Television, Isaacs was the founding chief executive of Channe ...
described Loach's intervention as an act of censorship, saying: "They must not allow someone who has no real position, no rock to stand on, to interfere with their programming". Later, a spokesman for the EIFF said that although it had returned £300 to the Israeli Embassy, the festival itself would fund Shalom-Ezer's travel from its own budget.
[ ] Her film ''Surrogate'' (2008) is a comedy set in a sex-therapy clinic which is unconcerned with war or politics.
In an open letter to Shalom-Ezer, Loach wrote: "From the beginning, Israel and its supporters have attacked their critics as anti-semites or racists. It is a tactic to undermine rational debate. To be crystal clear: as a film maker you will receive a warm welcome in Edinburgh. You are not censored or rejected. The opposition was to the Festival's taking money from the Israeli state". To his critics, he added later: "The boycott, as anyone who takes the trouble to investigate knows, is aimed at the Israeli state". Loach said he had a "respectful and reasoned" conversation with event organisers, saying they should not be accepting funds from Israel.
[Ahmad, Muhammad]
'Enough is Enough', say Ken Loach and Ilan Pappe
, pulsemedia.org, 18 June 2009.
In June 2009, Loach, Laverty and O'Brien withdrew their film ''Looking For Eric'' from the
Melbourne International Film Festival
The Melbourne International Film Festival (MIFF) is an annual film festival held over three weeks in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. It was founded in 1952 and is one of the oldest film festivals in the world following the founding of the Venic ...
, where the Israeli Embassy is a sponsor, after the festival declined to withdraw that sponsorship. The festival's chief executive, Richard Moore, compared Loach's tactics to blackmail, stating that "we will not participate in a boycott against the State of Israel, just as we would not contemplate boycotting films from China or other nations involved in difficult long-standing historical disputes". Australian politician
Michael Danby also criticised Loach's tactics, stating that "Israelis and Australians have always had a lot in common, including contempt for the irritating British penchant for claiming cultural superiority. Melbourne is a very different place to Londonistan". An article in ''
The Scotsman
''The Scotsman'' is a Scottish compact (newspaper), compact newspaper and daily news website headquartered in Edinburgh. First established as a radical political paper in 1817, it began daily publication in 1855 and remained a broadsheet until ...
'' by
Alex Massie noted that Loach had not called for the same boycott of the
Cannes Film Festival
The Cannes Film Festival (; ), until 2003 called the International Film Festival ('), is the most prestigious film festival in the world.
Held in Cannes, France, it previews new films of all genres, including documentaries, from all around ...
, where his film was in competition with some Israeli films.
Loach, Laverty and O'Brien subsequently wrote:
Association with Labour under Jeremy Corbyn
Loach had rejoined the
Labour Party by 2017, and was a member until his expulsion in the summer of 2021.
In August 2015, he endorsed
Jeremy Corbyn's Labour leadership campaign.
In September 2016, Loach's one-hour documentary ''In Conversation with Jeremy Corbyn'' was released during the
second leadership election.
In May 2017, Loach directed an
election broadcast featuring a profile of
Jeremy Corbyn
Jeremy Bernard Corbyn (; born 26 May 1949) is a British politician who has been Member of Parliament (United Kingdom), Member of Parliament (MP) for Islington North (UK Parliament constituency), Islington North since 1983. Now an Independent ...
for the Labour Party's
general election
A general election is an electoral process to choose most or all members of a governing body at the same time. They are distinct from By-election, by-elections, which fill individual seats that have become vacant between general elections. Gener ...
campaign. In all, he has made three broadcasts for the party.
In 2017, speaking at the Co-operative Ways Forward conference in Manchester, Loach emphasised the role of the co-operative movement in Jeremy Corbyn’s agenda, saying that “co-ops embody the ideas of socialism, collective ownership, democratic control and products or services for the common good.”
In interviews in September and October 2019, Loach said MPs around Corbyn had not acted as a team, and that most would prefer a rightwing leader. He said the Labour leadership had "compromised too much with the Labour right". He accused the right of the party, including
Tom Watson, of aiming to destroy the socialist programme put forward by Corbyn. He suggested that sitting Labour MP's and councillors should reapply for their jobs before each election so that they could be judged on their record. He also said that Labour people should make a case for socialism including "
nancing trade union rights,
planning the economy, investing in the regions, kicking out the
privatised
Privatization (rendered privatisation in British English) can mean several different things, most commonly referring to moving something from the public sector into the private sector. It is also sometimes used as a synonym for deregulation wh ...
elements of the
NHS
The National Health Service (NHS) is the term for the publicly funded health care, publicly funded healthcare systems of the United Kingdom: the National Health Service (England), NHS Scotland, NHS Wales, and Health and Social Care (Northern ...
". He considered issues such as health, schools, poverty, inequality and climate change as more important than
Brexit
Brexit (, a portmanteau of "Britain" and "Exit") was the Withdrawal from the European Union, withdrawal of the United Kingdom (UK) from the European Union (EU).
Brexit officially took place at 23:00 GMT on 31 January 2020 (00:00 1 February ...
.
In November 2019, Loach endorsed the Labour Party in the
2019 general election.
In December 2019, along with 42 other leading cultural figures, he signed a letter endorsing the Labour Party under Corbyn's leadership in the 2019 general election. The letter stated that "Labour's election manifesto under Jeremy Corbyn's leadership offers a transformative plan that prioritises the needs of people and the planet over private profit and the vested interests of a few."
In August 2021, Loach was expelled from the Labour Party because of his membership with the organisation
Labour Against the Witchhunt, with the party saying he was removed for failing to "disown" Labour members who had been expelled.
In an interview with ''
Jacobin
The Society of the Friends of the Constitution (), renamed the Society of the Jacobins, Friends of Freedom and Equality () after 1792 and commonly known as the Jacobin Club () or simply the Jacobins (; ), was the most influential political cl ...
'' the same month, Loach stated that he was not a member of any of the organisations which had recently been proscribed by the party, but that he "support(ed) many of the people who have been expelled, because they are good friends and comrades". He also argued that his expulsion was an ''
ex post facto'' action as the evidence the party cited in their letter informing him of their decision dated from before the organisations he was accused of being a member of had been banned by the party. Former shadow chancellor
John McDonnell
John Martin McDonnell (born 8 September 1951) is a British politician who served as Shadow Chancellor of the Exchequer from 2015 to 2020. He has been the Member of Parliament (United Kingdom), Member of Parliament (MP) for Hayes and Harlington ...
said, "To expel such a fine socialist who has done so much to further the cause of socialism is a disgrace". His expulsion was also opposed by the
Socialist Campaign Group but supported by the
Jewish Labour Movement.
Views on allegations of antisemitism in the Labour Party
At the
Labour Party Conference
The Labour Party Conference is the annual conference of the British Labour Party (UK), Labour Party. It is formally the supreme decision-making body of the party and is traditionally held in the final week of September, during the party conferen ...
in September 2017, Loach said he had been going to Labour Party, trade union and left-wing meetings for over 50 years and had never heard antisemitic or racist remarks, although such views certainly existed in society.
When asked about allegations of antisemitic abuse made by Labour MP
Ruth Smeeth, he suggested that they were raised to destabilise Corbyn's leadership, due to his support for Palestinian rights.
He was also asked about a conference fringe event at which
Miko Peled suggested people should be allowed to question whether
the Holocaust
The Holocaust (), known in Hebrew language, Hebrew as the (), was the genocide of History of the Jews in Europe, European Jews during World War II. From 1941 to 1945, Nazi Germany and Collaboration with Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy ...
had happened. Loach responded: "I think history is for all of us to discuss. The founding of the state of Israel, for example, based on ethnic cleansing, is there for us all to discuss, so don't try and subvert that by false stories of antisemitism". Following the publication of articles by
Jonathan Freedland and
Howard Jacobson which were critical of him, he said it was not acceptable to question or challenge the reality of the Holocaust, which was as real a historical event as the
Second World War
World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
itself. ''
The Jerusalem Post
''The Jerusalem Post'' is an English language, English-language Israeli broadsheet newspaper based in Jerusalem, Israel, founded in 1932 during the Mandate for Palestine, British Mandate of Mandatory Palestine, Palestine by Gershon Agron as ''Th ...
'' maintained Loach had not been quoted out of context, and that his words had been in response to the question about whether the Holocaust was real.
Loach was an official sponsor of the group
Labour Against the Witchhunt, launched in 2017 to campaign against what it sees to be politically motivated allegations of antisemitism in the Labour Party.
In April 2018, Loach was reported to have said, at a screening of ''I, Daniel Blake'' organised by
Kingswood Labour Party, that those Labour MPs who had attended a rally in Parliament Square the previous month opposing alleged
antisemitism in the Labour Party should be deselected or, as he reputedly expressed it, "kicked out" because of their lack of support for the current manifesto.
Asked for clarification, Loach said the quoted remarks "do not reflect my position" and that "reselecting an MP should not be based on individual incidents but reflect the MP's principles, actions and behaviour over a long period."
In July 2019, the BBC's
''Panorama'' aired an episode entitled
"Is Labour Anti-Semitic?" Loach commented, saying "it raised the horror of racism against Jews in the most atrocious propagandistic way, with crude journalism … and it bought the propaganda from people who were intent on destroying Corbyn".
Views on the welfare system
In 2016, Loach, a social campaigner for most of his career, said the criteria for
claiming benefits in the UK were "a
Kafka-esque, ''
Catch-22'' situation designed to frustrate and humiliate the claimant to such an extent that they drop out of the system and stop pursuing their right to ask for support if necessary".
Personal life
Loach married Lesley Ashton in 1962. They reside in
Bath, Somerset
Bath (Received Pronunciation, RP: , ) is a city in Somerset, England, known for and named after its Roman Baths (Bath), Roman-built baths. At the 2021 census, the population was 94,092. Bath is in the valley of the River Avon, Bristol, River A ...
, and have two sons and two daughters together.
They had another son, who died at the age of five on 2 May 1971 in a car accident on the
M1 motorway
The M1 motorway connects London to Leeds, where it joins the A1(M) motorway, A1(M) near Aberford, to connect to Newcastle upon Tyne, Newcastle. It was the first inter-urban motorway to be completed in the UK; the first motorway in the count ...
. Their son
Jim (born 1969) became a filmmaker, while their daughter Emma is married to actor
Elliot Levey.
Loach is a patron of the
British Humanist Association
Humanists UK, known from 1967 until May 2017 as the British Humanist Association (BHA), is a charitable organisation which promotes secular humanism and aims to represent non-religious people in the UK through a mixture of charitable servic ...
and a
secularist
Secularism is the principle of seeking to conduct human affairs based on naturalistic considerations, uninvolved with religion. It is most commonly thought of as the separation of religion from civil affairs and the state and may be broadened ...
, saying, "In particular, the indoctrination of children in separate faith schools is pernicious and divisive. I strongly support the British Humanist Association."
Loach turned down an
OBE in 1977. In a March 2001 ''
Radio Times
''Radio Times'' is a British weekly listings magazine devoted to television and radio programme schedules, with other features such as interviews, film reviews and lifestyle items. Founded in September 1923 by John Reith, then general manage ...
'' interview, he said, "It's all the things I think are despicable: patronage, deferring to the monarchy and the name of the
British Empire
The British Empire comprised the dominions, Crown colony, colonies, protectorates, League of Nations mandate, mandates, and other Dependent territory, territories ruled or administered by the United Kingdom and its predecessor states. It bega ...
, which is a monument of exploitation and conquest. I turned down the OBE because it's not a club you want to join when you look at the villains who've got it."
Loach has been awarded
honorary doctorates by the
University of Bath
The University of Bath is a public research university in Bath, England. Bath received its royal charter in 1966 as Bath University of Technology, along with a number of other institutions following the Robbins Report. Like the University ...
, the
University of Birmingham
The University of Birmingham (informally Birmingham University) is a Public university, public research university in Birmingham, England. It received its royal charter in 1900 as a successor to Queen's College, Birmingham (founded in 1825 as ...
,
Staffordshire University, and
Keele University
Keele University is a Public university#United Kingdom, public research university in Keele, approximately from Newcastle-under-Lyme, Staffordshire, England. Founded in 1949 as the University College of North Staffordshire, it was granted uni ...
. The
University of Oxford
The University of Oxford is a collegiate university, collegiate research university in Oxford, England. There is evidence of teaching as early as 1096, making it the oldest university in the English-speaking world and the List of oldest un ...
awarded him an honorary
Doctor of Civil Law
Doctor of Civil Law (DCL; ) is a degree offered by some universities, such as the University of Oxford, instead of the more common Doctor of Laws (LLD) degrees.
At Oxford, the degree is a higher doctorate usually awarded on the basis of except ...
degree in June 2005. He is also an honorary fellow of his ''alma mater'',
St Peter's College, Oxford. In May 2006, he was awarded the
BAFTA Fellowship
The BAFTA Fellowship, or the Academy Fellowship, is a lifetime achievement award presented by the British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA) in recognition of "outstanding achievement in the art forms of the moving image". The award is t ...
at the
BAFTA TV Awards.
In 2003, Loach received an honorary doctorate from
Heriot-Watt University
Heriot-Watt University () is a public research university based in Edinburgh, Scotland. It was established in 1821 as the School of Arts of Edinburgh, the world's first mechanics' institute, and was subsequently granted university status by roya ...
and received the 2003
Praemium Imperiale
Prince Takamatsu
The Praemium Imperiale () is an international art prize inaugurated in 1988 and awarded since 1989 by the Imperial family of Japan on behalf of the Japan Art Association in the fields of painting, sculpture, architecture, mu ...
(lit. "World Culture Prize in Memory of His Imperial Highness
Prince Takamatsu") in the category Film/Theatre. In 2006, the
Capri Hollywood International Film Festival honoured him with the Capri Legend Award for his contribution to filmmaking. In 2014, he was presented with the
Honorary Golden Bear at the
64th Berlin International Film Festival
The 64th annual Berlin International Film Festival was held from 6 to 16 February 2014. Wes Anderson's film ''The Grand Budapest Hotel'' opened the festival.
British film director Ken Loach was presented with the Golden Bear#Golden Bear .E2.80. ...
.
The
Raindance Film Festival
Raindance is an independent film festival and film school that operates in major cities including London, Los Angeles, New York, Vancouver, Toronto, Montreal, Budapest, Berlin, and Brussels. The festival was established in 1992 by Elliot Grove ...
announced in September 2016 that it would be honouring Loach with its inaugural Auteur Award, to recognise his "achievements in filmmaking and contribution to the film industry". He was also made Honorary Associate of
London Film School.
Loach was among a number of artists invited by
Pope Francis
Pope Francis (born Jorge Mario Bergoglio; 17 December 1936 – 21 April 2025) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 13 March 2013 until Death and funeral of Pope Francis, his death in 2025. He was the fi ...
to attend the 50th anniversary of the opening of the
Vatican Museums
The Vatican Museums (; ) are the public museums of the Vatican City. They display works from the immense collection amassed by the Catholic Church and the papacy throughout the centuries, including several of the best-known Roman sculptures and ...
' Collection of Modern and Contemporary Art. The Pope encouraged those present to work for change in areas like social justice.
Turning down Turin Film Festival award
In November 2012, Loach turned down the
Turin Film Festival award, upon learning that the
National Museum of Cinema in
Turin
Turin ( , ; ; , then ) is a city and an important business and cultural centre in northern Italy. It is the capital city of Piedmont and of the Metropolitan City of Turin, and was the first Italian capital from 1861 to 1865. The city is main ...
had outsourced cleaning and security services. The museum outsourced this labour after dismissing workers who opposed a wage cut, in addition to raising allegations of intimidation and harassment. Loach publicly stated that his refusal to accept the award from the museum was an act of solidarity with these workers.
Honorary doctorate from Free University of Brussels
In April 2018, Loach was awarded an honorary doctorate by the
Université libre de Bruxelles
The (French language, French, ; lit. Free University of Brussels; abbreviated ULB) is a French-speaking research university in Brussels, Belgium. It has three campuses: the ''Solbosch'' campus (in the City of Brussels and Ixelles), the ''Plain ...
(Free University of Brussels). Belgium's Prime Minister
Charles Michel
Charles Michel (; born 21 December 1975) is a Belgian politician who served as the president of the European Council from 2019 to 2024. He previously served as the Prime Minister of Belgium, prime minister of Belgium between 2014 and 2019. Miche ...
objected.
Belgian Jewish organisations campaigned for Loach not to receive the honorary doctorate. The previous evening, during a speech at Brussels Grand Synagogue, to mark the 70th anniversary of Israel's foundation, Michel said: "No accommodation with antisemitism can be tolerated, whatever its form. And that also goes for my own alma mater".
His office told the Belgian ''
De Standaard
(, ) is a Flemish daily newspaper published in Belgium by Mediahuis (formerly Corelio and VUM). It was traditionally a Christian-Democratic paper, associated with the Christian-Democratic and Flemish Party, and in opposition to the Sociali ...
'' news website the comments could apply to Loach's honorary doctorate.
At a press conference before the award, Loach asked: "Is the law so badly taught here? Or did he not pass his exam?"
In a press release, Loach said the claim about his alleged antisemitism was "malicious". The rector of the Free University of Brussels, Yvon Englert, supported Loach.
Filmography
Films
*''
Poor Cow
''Poor Cow'' (also known as ''No Tears for Joy'') is a 1967 British kitchen sink drama film directed by Ken Loach and starring Carol White and Terence Stamp. It was written by Loach and Nell Dunn based on Dunn's 1967 novel of the same na ...
'' (1967)
*''
Kes'' (1969) (as Kenneth Loach)
*''
Family Life'' (1971)
*''
Black Jack'' (1979) (as Kenneth Loach)
*''
Looks and Smiles'' (1981) (as Kenneth Loach)
*''
Fatherland
A homeland is a place where a national or ethnic identity has formed. The definition can also mean simply one's country of birth. When used as a proper noun, the Homeland, as well as its equivalents in other languages, often has ethnic nation ...
'' (1986)
*''
Hidden Agenda'' (1990)
*''
Riff-Raff'' (1991)
*''
Raining Stones'' (1993)
*''
Ladybird, Ladybird'' (1994)
*''
Land and Freedom'' (1995)
*''
Carla's Song'' (1996)
*''
My Name Is Joe'' (1998)
*''
Bread and Roses'' (2000)
*''
The Navigators'' (2001)
*''
Sweet Sixteen'' (2002)
*''
11'09"01 September 11'' (segment "United Kingdom") (2002)
*''
Ae Fond Kiss...'' (2004)
*''
Tickets
Ticket or tickets may refer to:
Slips of paper
* Lottery, Lottery ticket
* Parking violation, Parking ticket, a ticket confirming that the parking fee was paid (and the time of the parking start)
* Ticket system, Toll ticket, a slip of paper use ...
'' (2005), along with
Ermanno Olmi
Ermanno Olmi (24 July 1931 – 7 May 2018)Lane, John Francis (May 7, 2018).Ermanno Olmi obituary. ''The Guardian''. theguardian.com. Retrieved 11 May 2018. was an Italian film director and screenwriter best known for directing '' Il Posto'' ( ...
and
Abbas Kiarostami
Abbas Kiarostami ( ; 22 June 1940 – 4 July 2016) was an Iranian film director, screenwriter, poet, photographer, and film producer. An active filmmaker from 1970, Kiarostami had been involved in the production of over forty films, including s ...
*''
The Wind That Shakes the Barley'' (2006)
*''
It's a Free World...'' (2007)
*''
Looking for Eric
''Looking for Eric'' is a 2009 sports comedy-drama film directed by Ken Loach and written by Paul Laverty. It is an international co-production between the United Kingdom, France, Italy, Belgium, and Spain. It stars Steve Evets, Eric Cantona ...
'' (2009)
*''
Route Irish'' (2010)
*''
The Angels' Share'' (2012)
*''
Jimmy's Hall'' (2014)
*''
I, Daniel Blake'' (2016)
*''
Sorry We Missed You'' (2019)
*''
The Old Oak'' (2023)
Television
*''Catherine'' ("Teletale", 1964)
*''
Z-Cars
''Z-Cars'' or ''Z Cars'' (pronounced "zed cars") is a British television police procedural series centred on the work of mobile uniformed police and CID detectives in the fictional town of Newtown, based on Kirkby, near Liverpool. Produced by ...
'' (series episodes, 1964)
*''Diary of a Young Man'' (series, 1964)
*''
Tap on the Shoulder'' (''
The Wednesday Play
''The Wednesday Play'' is an anthology series of United Kingdom, British television plays which ran on BBC One, BBC1 for six seasons from October 1964 to May 1970. The plays were usually original works written for television, although dramatic ...
'', 1965)
*''
Wear a Very Big Hat'' (''The Wednesday Play'', 1965)
*''
Three Clear Sundays'' (''The Wednesday Play'', 1965)
*''
Up the Junction'' (''The Wednesday Play'', 1965)
*''
The End of Arthur's Marriage'' (''The Wednesday Play'', 1965)
*''
The Coming Out Party'' (''The Wednesday Play'', 1965)
*''
Cathy Come Home
"Cathy Come Home" is a 1966 BBC television play about homelessness. It was written by Jeremy Sandford, produced by Tony Garnett and directed by Ken Loach. A 1998 ''Radio Times'' readers' poll voted it the "best single television drama" and a 200 ...
'' (''The Wednesday Play'', 1966)
*''
In Two Minds'' (''The Wednesday Play'', 1967)
*''
The Golden Vision'' (''The Wednesday Play'', 1968)
*''
The Big Flame'' (''The Wednesday Play'', 1969)
*''
The Rank and File'' (''Play for Today'', 1971)
*''After a Lifetime'' ("Sunday Night Theatre", 1971)
*''A Misfortune'' ("Full House", 1973)
*''
Days of Hope'' (serial, 1975)
*''
The Price of Coal'' (1977)
*''
The Gamekeeper'' (1980)
*''Auditions'' (1980)
*''A Question of Leadership'' (1981)
*''The Red and the Blue: Impressions of Two Political Conferences – Autumn 1982'' (1983)
*''Questions of Leadership'' (1983/4, untransmitted)
*''Which Side Are You On?'' (1985)
*''End of the Battle... Not the End of the War'' ("Diverse Reports", 1985)
*''Time to Go'' ("Split Screen", 1989)
*''The View From the Woodpile'' (1989)
*''The Arthur Legend'' ("Dispatches", 1991)
*''The Flickering Flame'' (1996)
*''Another City: A Week in the Life of Bath's Football Club'' (1998)
Documentaries
* ''
The Save the Children Fund Film'' (1971)
* ''A Contemporary Case for Common Ownership'' (1995)
* ''
McLibel'' (2005)
* ''
The Spirit of '45'' (2013)
Filmmaking awards and recognition
Loach's films have won the
Palme d'Or
The (; ) is the highest prize awarded to the director of the Best Feature Film of the Official Competition at the Cannes Film Festival. It was introduced in 1955 by the festival's organizing committee. Previously, from 1939 to 1954, the festiv ...
, the festival's top award, a joint-record twice (''The Wind That Shakes the Barley'' in 2006 and ''I, Daniel Blake'' in 2016), the
Jury Prize a joint-record three times (''Hidden Agenda'' in 1990, ''Raining Stones'' in 1993, and ''The Angels' Share'' in 2012) as well as the
FIPRESCI Prize three times (''Black Jack'' in 1979, ''Riff-Raff'' in 1991 and ''Land and Freedom'' in 1995) and the
Prize of the Ecumenical Jury
The Prize of the Ecumenical Jury () is an independent film award for feature-length films shown at major international film festivals since 1973. The award was created by Christian film makers, film critics and other film professionals. The objec ...
twice (''Land and Freedom'' in 1995 and ''Looking for Eric'' in 2009). Loach's collaborators have also won awards at the festival for their work on his films:
Peter Mullan won
Best Actor for ''My Name Is Joe'' in 1998, and
Paul Laverty won
Best Screenplay for ''Sweet Sixteen'' in 2002.
While Loach's films have only occasionally been entered into the
Venice
Venice ( ; ; , formerly ) is a city in northeastern Italy and the capital of the Veneto Regions of Italy, region. It is built on a group of 118 islands that are separated by expanses of open water and by canals; portions of the city are li ...
and
Berlin Film Festival
The Berlin International Film Festival (), usually called the Berlinale (), is an annual film festival held in Berlin, Germany. Founded in 1951 and originally run in June, the festival has been held every February since 1978 and is one of Europ ...
s (generally regarded as the main rivals of Cannes), he has won awards at both, including, most notably, their respective lifetime achievement awards: the
Honorary Golden Lion in 1994, and the
Honorary Golden Bear in 2014.
Other major awards won by Loach include the
BAFTA for Outstanding British Film (''I, Daniel Blake'' in 2016) and
BIFA for Best British Independent Film (''My Name is Joe'' in 1998 and ''Sweet Sixteen'' in 2002), the
César Award for Best Foreign Film (''Land and Freedom'' in 1995 and ''I, Daniel Blake'' in 2016), the
European Film Award for Best Film
European Film Award for Best Film is one of the annual European Film Awards, presented by the European Film Academy to recognize the best in European filmmaking. It was first awarded in 1988 with Polish film ''A Short Film About Killing'', directe ...
(''Riff-Raff'' in 1992 and ''Land and Freedom'' in 1995), and the
Belgian Film Critics Association Grand Prix (''Raining Stones'' in 1993).
In addition, Loach's 1969 classic ''Kes'' was judged the 7th best British film of the 20th century by the
British Film Institute
The British Film Institute (BFI) is a film and television charitable organisation which promotes and preserves filmmaking and television in the United Kingdom. The BFI uses funds provided by the National Lottery to encourage film production, ...
, and the 4th best British film ever made by ''
Time Out'', while his 1966 television play ''Cathy Come Home'' was ranked the second best British TV programme, also by the BFI, and the best ever single television drama in a readers' poll conducted by the ''
Radio Times
''Radio Times'' is a British weekly listings magazine devoted to television and radio programme schedules, with other features such as interviews, film reviews and lifestyle items. Founded in September 1923 by John Reith, then general manage ...
''. Loach's 1997/2005 documentary ''McLibel'', meanwhile, featured in the BFI's landmark ''Ten Documentaries which Changed the World'' series.
See also
*
Kitchen sink realism
Kitchen sink realism (or kitchen sink drama) is a British cultural movement that developed in the late 1950s and early 1960s in theatre, art, novels, film and television plays, whose protagonists usually could be described as " angry young men" ...
References
External links
Ken Loach – production company and DVD box set*
*
Ken Loach at MUBIKen Loach filmography*
Posters and Stills Gallery from the BFI ''
Democracy & Nature
''Democracy & Nature'' was a peer-reviewed academic journal of Politics established in 1992 by Takis Fotopoulos as ''Society and Nature'', obtaining its later name in 1995. '', Vol. 5, No.1 (March 1999); interviewed by Theodoros Papadopoulos in December 1998
* , interview about ''
Route Irish'' with Alex Barker and
Alex Niven in the ''
Oxonian Review''
{{DEFAULTSORT:Loach, Ken
1936 births
Living people
20th-century Royal Air Force personnel
Alumni of St Peter's College, Oxford
BAFTA fellows
BAFTA Outstanding British Contribution to Cinema Award
BBC people
British film directors
British humanists
British republicans
British socialists
British television directors
César Award winners
Directors of Palme d'Or winners
European Film Awards winners (people)
Golden Lion for Lifetime Achievement recipients
Honorary Fellows of St Peter's College, Oxford
Honorary Golden Bear recipients
Labour Party (UK) people
People from Nuneaton
Political controversies in the United Kingdom
Prix Italia winners
Respect Party parliamentary candidates
Social realism
British political artists