‘If you make films about people’s lives, politics is essential. It is the essence of drama – the essence of conflict.’ – Ken Loach
Ken Loach has been making films for over 60 years. Throughout his long career, he has consistently told stories of class inequality, systemic oppression, and the state’s failure to support the vulnerable. His films are about working class people, their everyday lives, their betrayal and disenfranchisement, and their defiance and resilience. They have been labelled bleak – as they refuse to sanitise reality – but they’re also empowering, advocating resistance and solidarity as the only viable solutions. In fact, many of Loach’s films have a distinct comedic undertone.
On the surface, Loach is mild-mannered, yet his actions reveal a man of steely determination and unshaken moral integrity. His anger against injustice is not performative, but principled: time and again, he has opted out of film festivals that are misaligned with his values, rejected the Hollywood payroll, and has kept making polemic films well into his eighties. His work has sparked public debate, prompted parliamentary discussions, and faced broadcasting bans. Loach is a rare filmmaker whose art is as powerful as his convictions: he has won the Palme d’Or twice and been selected at Cannes fifteen times. Younger audiences may only know his recent award-winners, missing his earlier groundbreaking television dramas, documentaries, and feature films.
Our retrospective offers a comprehensive view of Ken Loach’s career, presenting key works from each decade, with particular emphasis on his earlier films – some of which are rarely, if ever, screened. Running from September through November, the programme will feature 23 handpicked titles from his extensive filmography. Films will be contextualised by Q&As and discussions and screened alongside special events, such as live music, a whisky tasting, and fundraisers in support of the causes he champions. As a special offer to members, we’re organising a live conversation with Ken Loach focusing on his most suppressed films – The Navigators, The Save The Children Fund, Which Side Are You On?, A Question of Leadership – and the battles he fought to make and broadcast them. The date for this screening and conversation will be announced soon.
Events: The season will begin with his TV films Up the Junction, Big Flame, and Cathy Come Home, shown over three consecutive Sundays. The last will be introduced by architect Jemma Miller, who specialises in housing in London and the Southeast. The iconic Kes – ranked 7th in the BFI’s list of top 100 British films – will feature a Q&A with lead actor David Bradley. Land & Freedom will be followed by a roundtable conversation between Professor Paul Preston and historian and author Richard Baxell. Loach’s producer Rebecca O’Brien will join us for a Q&A after the screening of Sweet Sixteen, with copies of the new edition of Loach on Loach available for purchase at our Atrium Bar before and after the screening. Our The Wind that Shakes the Barley screening will act as a fundraiser for a Palestinian cultural charity, with Irish musicians performing before the screening and crafts on sale in the Atrium Bar. For our second screening of The Angel’s Share we’ll hold a whisky tasting event in collaboration with The Auld Hag – details to be announced on this soon.
Subtitles: Family Life, Ladybird Ladybird, The Wind that Shakes the Barley, Angel’s Share, and Sorry We Missed you will be screened with English subtitles.
