Biography

Kenneth Charles Loach (born 17 June 1936; Nuneaton) is a British film director, screenwriter and producer. His socially critical directing style is 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). Kenneth Charles Loach was born on 17 June 1936 in Nuneaton, Warwickshire, the son of Vivien (née Hamlin) and John Loach. He attended King Edward VI Grammar School and at the age of 19 went to serve in the Royal Air Force. He read law at St Peter's College, Oxford and graduated with a third-class degree. As a member of the Oxford University Experimental Theatre Club he directed an open-air production of Bartholomew Fair for the Shakespeare Memorial Theatre, Stratford, in 1959 (when he also took the role of the shady horse-dealer Dan Jordan Knockem). After Oxford, he began a career in the dramatic arts. 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 nine filmmakers to win the award twice.

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Filmography

View Question Time
Question Time

Question Time

1979Series
5.5
View The Story of Film: An Odyssey
The Story of Film: An Odyssey

The Story of Film: An Odyssey

2011Series
7.7
View Faut Voir - L'Hebdo cinéma
Faut Voir - L'Hebdo cinéma

Faut Voir - L'Hebdo cinéma

2023Series0
View Square
Square

Square

2012Series0
View John Bishop: In Conversation with...
John Bishop: In Conversation with...

John Bishop: In Conversation with...

2016Series
7.0
View Jane Austen: Rise of a Genius
Jane Austen: Rise of a Genius

Jane Austen: Rise of a Genius

2025Series
4.0
View Vittorio D.
Vittorio D.

Vittorio D.

2009Film
6.3
View 40 x 15: The Forty Years of the Directors' Fortnight
40 x 15: The Forty Years of the Directors' Fortnight

40 x 15: The Forty Years of the Directors' Fortnight

2008Film0
View A Special Day
A Special Day

A Special Day

2012Film
6.0
View Reel Britannia
Reel Britannia

Reel Britannia

2022Series
8.5
View What Do You Know About Me
What Do You Know About Me

What Do You Know About Me

2009Film
7.0
View Carry On Ken
Carry On Ken

Carry On Ken

2006Film0