Ken Loach - Director

We have learnt a little bit about Ken Loach during our media lessons and I was inspired to do even more when I found out that he focuses on portraying 'British Realism' in his films. Within our production we also hope to add a certain realist element which is why I think it is beneficial for me to research Ken Loach.

Ken Loach was born in 1939 in Warwickshire, Kent. His most famous works include, The Wind That Shakes The Barley, KES, Sweet Sixteen and Bread & Roses.

All his films focus on gritty British life and come under the category of social realism. Some of his most famous work covers the topics of Homelessness and Child Abuse. Ken Loach prefers to use unknown talent who have had some of the life experience of the characters they portray within his films rather than employing Hollywood actors, I feel that by doing this he adds realism to his films as the characters really come alive. Loach is often said to have not given the actors the full script so as they can respond to situations in the narrative naturally. Due to this Loach's work has been described as 'naturalistic' and I feel that his films do give off this feeling due to the realistic atmospheres and characters that feature within them. Within our production we hope to create natural scenes and atmospheres just like Loach has managed to achieve in so many of his films.

Loach once said, referring to the 1948 film Bicycle Thieves, "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." Loach set out to create films which were very different to the normal blockbusters which dominate cinema. I admire Ken Loach's directing style and would love to create an edgy film which depicts real life, just like his productions.