Biography
Kenneth Charles Loach (born 17 June 1936; Nuneaton) is a retired British film director, screenwriter and producer. His humanist values and socialist political 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). 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 …
Directed
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I, Daniel Blake (2016) — Director
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The Wind That Shakes the Barley (2006) — Director
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Sorry We Missed You (2019) — Director
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The Angels' Share (2012) — Director
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Kes (1970) — Director
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The Old Oak (2023) — Director
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Looking for Eric (2009) — Director
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Land and Freedom (1995) — Director
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Sweet Sixteen (2002) — Director
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My Name Is Joe (1998) — Director
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Jimmy's Hall (2014) — Director
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To Each His Own Cinema (2007) — Director
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Raining Stones (1993) — Director
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Ae Fond Kiss... (2004) — Director
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Bread and Roses (2000) — Director
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It's a Free World... (2007) — Director
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September 11 (2002) — Director
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Riff-Raff (1991) — Director
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Hidden Agenda (1990) — Director
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Route Irish (2011) — Director
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Ladybird Ladybird (1994) — Director
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Carla's Song (1996) — Director
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The Navigators (2001) — Director
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Family Life (1971) — Director
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Poor Cow (1967) — Director
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Tickets (2005) — Director
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Cathy Come Home (1966) — Director
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The Spirit of '45 (2013) — Director
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McLibel (2005) — Director
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Black Jack (1979) — Director
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Fatherland (1986) — Director
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Dispatches (1987) — Director
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Looks and Smiles (1981) — Director
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Play for Today (1970) — Director
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Up the Junction (1965) — Director
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The Flickering Flame (1996) — Director
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The Gamekeeper (1980) — Director
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The End of Arthur's Marriage (1965) — Director
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Z-Cars (1962) — Director
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Which Side Are You On? (1985) — Director
Also appeared in
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The Story of Film: An Odyssey (2011) — Self
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Catastroika (2012) — Self
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Versus: The Life and Films of Ken Loach (2016) — Self - Film Director
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Great Directors (2009) — Self
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We Are Many (2014) — Self
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Question Time (1979) — Self - Panellist
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Film: The Living Record of Our Memory (2022) — Self
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Vittorio D. (2009) — Self
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Cannes Uncut (2023) — Self
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About Cinema (2015) — Self
- Film '72 (1971) — Self
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Water and Sugar – Carlo Di Palma: The Colours of Life (2017) — Self
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Thatcher's Not Dead (2022) — Self
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To Make a Comedy Is No Fun (2016) — Self
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Reel Britannia (2022) — Self
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John Bishop: In Conversation with... (2016) — Self
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Ken Loach, le vent de la révolte (2023) — Self
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I Get Knocked Down (2023) — Self
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C'era una volta in Italia - Giacarta sta arrivando (2022) — Sé stesso
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A Special Day (2012) — Self
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Celuloide colectivo: el cine en guerra (2009) — Himself
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CzechMate: In Search of Jiří Menzel (2018) — Self
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Once upon a time... "I, Daniel Blake" (2021) — himself
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What Do You Know About Me (2009) — Self
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Jane Austen: Rise of a Genius (2025) — Self
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British Film Forever (2007)
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Jordi Dauder, la revolució pendent (2012) — Himself
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40 x 15: The Forty Years of the Directors' Fortnight (2008) — Self
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Ken and Rosa (2001) — Himself
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Who Killed British Cinema? (2018) — Self
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Greg Davies: Looking for Kes (2019) — Self
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The Great NHS Heist (2019) — Himself
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Victoria Wood: The Secret List (2020) — Self
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Television (1985)
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Oh Jeremy Corbyn - The Big Lie (2023) — (himself)
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The Making of 'Hidden Agenda' (1990) — Self
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A Turnip Head's Guide To The British Cinema (1986) — Self
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Uomini in Marcia (2024)
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Il était une fois... « Rosetta » (2015) — Self
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Right to Work March (1972)