Ken Loach
Ken Loach | |
|---|---|
Loach in 2014 | |
| Born | Kenneth Charles Loach 17 June 1936 Nuneaton, Warwickshire, England |
| Education | King Edward VI Grammar School, Warwickshire |
| Alma mater | St Peter's College, Oxford (BA) |
| Occupations |
|
| Years active | 1962–2024 |
| Political party | Labour (1962–1994, 2015–2021) Left Unity (2012–2015) Respect (2004–2012) Independent (1994–2004, 2021–present) |
| Spouse |
Lesley Ashton
(m. 1962) |
| Children | 5, including Jim |
| Relatives | Elliot Levey (son-in-law) |
Kenneth Charles Loach (born 17 June 1936) is a retired English filmmaker. His socially critical directing style and socialist views are evident in his film treatment of social issues such as poverty (Poor Cow, 1967), homelessness (Cathy Come Home, 1966), and labour rights (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. Two of his films, The Wind That Shakes the Barley (2006) and I, Daniel Blake (2016), received the Palme d'Or at the Cannes Film Festival, 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.