The Old Oak | Ken Loach

[Cremildo]

Wild Bunch International (WBI) will launch sales on Ken Loach’s new feature The Old Oak during Cannes and has released fresh details about the project.

The production sees Loach return to northeast England, where he shot 2016 Palme d’Or winner I, Daniel Blake, and Sorry We Missed You, which also world premiered in Competition in Cannes in 2019.

It is set in a former coal-mining village that has never fully recovered from the closure of the mines. Its once-thriving, proud community struggles to keep old values alive amid growing anger and despondency, while few youngsters stick around.

An influx of Syrian refugees, drawn by the abundance of cheap and available housing, brings in fresh blood but it is not clear whether the community will accept them and what it means for the last remaining pub The Old Oak.

First confirmed cast members include Dave Turner, who had a supporting role in Sorry We Missed You, and big-screen newcomer Ebla Mari.

The production is lead-produced by Loach’s long-time producer Rebecca O’Brien at Sixteen Films with the backing of the BFI and BBC Films, in co-production with France’s Why Not Productions and Belgium’s Les Films Du Fleuve.

Sixteen Films co-partner and long-time Loach collaborator Paul Laverty has written the screenplay and cinematographer Robbie Ryan is also attached. The production is due to start shooting on May 19. source