docudrama
'a film or television programme based on true events, presented in a dramatized form'
Collins English Dictionary. Copyright © HarperCollins Publishers
'Ken Loach is a British film and television director, and the UK's foremost political filmmaker. He forged an alliance with producer Tony Garnett and developed the docudrama format via a series of hard-hitting ‘plays’ such as Cathy Come Home.' *
Cathy Come Come - Ken Loach (1966)
'Watched by 12 million people — a quarter of the British population at the time — on its first broadcast on 16 November 1966, Cathy Come Home was a defining moment in British television history. It provoked major public and political discussion and challenged the accepted conventions of television drama. The film tells the story of Cathy and Reg, a couple with three young children, who find their life spiralling into poverty when Reg loses his well-paid job. Gripping and emotional, it remains a truly ground-breaking piece of dramatic fiction, engaging viewers with social issues, such as homelessness, unemployment and the rights of mothers to keep their own children. Utilising documentary-style filming on location, the film consolidated director Ken Loach’s reputation for hard-hitting social realism.' BFI
"For Ken Loach, meanwhile, the film is ‘more like a report on homelessness in which various things which happened to homeless families were condensed into a narrative’. He had ‘the intention of saying to people who were watching on television that this is actually happening in your name, and we really have to stop and deal with it.’
Below is an extract from the beginning of Cathy Come Home.
I, Daniel Blake (2016)
'In 2016, Ken Loach's film 'I, Daniel Blake' won the Palme d'Or at Cannes Film Festival. I, Daniel Blake, which stars stand-up comedian Dave Johns in the title role, was written by long-time Loach collaborator Paul Laverty.
It documents what happens when an older man living in Newcastle has a heart attack and can no longer do his job.
He is declared fit for work, meaning his benefits are stopped, and he begins to go hungry.
Accepting the festival's top prize from actor Mel Gibson, Loach said: "We must give a message of hope, we must say another world is possible.' BBC 23/5/16
Appearing on Question Time in 2016, he attacked those that said this was a 'great film' but ultimately a work of 'Fiction'.
"Has the British public become less compassionate since Ken Loach's 1966 film 'Cathy Come Home' ? " - Question Time - October 2016
How to make a Ken Loach Film
To celebrate the release of I, DANIEL BLAKE, we present to you the new interactive documentary 'HOW TO MAKE A KEN LOACH FILM', directed by Emmanuel Roy and co-produced by Arte, Upian and Sixteen Films. You can watch the full documentary online here: http://howtomakeakenloachfilm.com/
Sorry We Missed You (2019) - Dir. Ken Loach
11’09’01 - Ken Loach
11'09"1 September 11 is a 2002 international film composed of 11 contributions from different filmmakers, each from a different country. Each gave their own vision of the events in New York City on September 11, 2001, in a short film of 11 minutes, 9 seconds, and one frame. The original concept and production of the film were by French producer Alain Brigand. It has been released internationally with several different titles, depending on the language. It is listed in the Internet Movie Database as 11'09"01 - September 11, while in French, it is known as 11 minutes 9 secondes 1 image and in Persian as 11-e-Septambr....
Ken Loach (segment "United Kingdom")
This segment features Pablo, a Chilean singer-songwriter exiled in London, writing a letter to the American people condemning the terrorist attacks and telling the story of Salvador Allende's government and the tragic consequences of Chile's own 9/11.
Ken Loach in Conversation - Oxford University 8th February 2021
Brilliant in depth conversation with Ken Loach at Oxford University. One of our greatest filmmakers. Speaking about "I Daniel Blake", "The wind that shakes the barley" and his human approach to film making