Meet Ken Loach

British Film Institute Southbank dedicates a weekend to Ken Loach (14- 15 September), when we will present the UK premiere of his new film It's a Free World (2007), followed by an on-stage Q&A with the director. Five of his finest features will screen (to coincide with the release of a new DVD boxed-set of his films). These titles present Loach's frank and empathic insights into the struggle of the British working-class.

The Loach weekend starts with a very rare screening of the made-for-TV feature, The Gamekeeper (ATV 1980).  Collaborating with Barry Hines, who also wrote the script for Kes (1969), Loach chronicles a year in the life of a gamekeeper employed on an aristocrat's estate. The Navigators (2001) examines the negative effects of privatisation on a group of Yorkshire railway workers. Peter Mullan won the Best Actor award at the Cannes Film Festival for his portrayal of an ex-alcoholic trying to re-build his life in My Name is Joe (1998), one of Loach's finest and most powerful films. 

Sweet Sixteen (2002) is a witty yet touching tale of how young lives are stifled by crime, poverty, and the lack of opportunities in urban Scotland. The devastating consequences of the relationship between an Irish music teacher and her second-generation Pakistani DJ is explored in A Fond Kiss (2004). It ‘s a Free World looks at a side of modern British life that many would prefer not to think about, questioning the cost of unchecked consumerism with a story as powerful as it is relevant to us all.

www.bfi.org.uk/loach

Preview: It's a Free World + Ken Loach in Conversation

Thu 13 Sep 18:20 NFT1, tickets £14.75, concs £10.75 (Members pay £1 less)

UK 2007 Dir Ken Loach With Kierston Wareing, Juliet Ellis, Leslaw Zurek 93min.