Durham-made drama The Old Oak may have missed out on the top award at Cannes Film Festival but its screening there has guaranteed it a continuing share of the international spotlight.
Ken Loach's latest drama, set to be his last, proved a hit at the festival when it had its official premiere there at the weekend. Nominated for the coveted Palme d'Or Award, a win would have seen Loach set the record as the only director in the festival's history to win top spot three times. He first won a Palme d'Or in 2006 with The Wind That Shakes The Barley and then again in 2016 with I, Daniel Blake, the first film he made in the North East.
Already Loach has set the record for the number of times his work has been selected for a screening at the international film festival this has been his 15th appearance in the competition - more by far than any other director. He was joined by long-time collaborators writer Paul Laverty and producer Rebecca O'Brien - the three making up the Sixteen Films production company - plus cast including Dave Turner, a retired firefighter from Blaydon, who landed a lead role in the film as TJ Ballantyne, landlord at the pub of the title.
Read more: The story of The Old Oak's journey to Cannes
There too was co-star Ebla Mari, who plays Syrian refugee and keen photographer Yara in the story which tells of the clash between residents of a former mining village and newly-arrived refugees from Syria. And a familiar local face was Trevor Fox, one of the film's few professional actors.
On Saturday's last day of the festival, the film, which was shot in Murton and other areas around County Durham, lost out on the top prize to Justine Triet's thriller Anatomy of a Fall, about a woman on trial following the mysterious death of her husband. But it enjoyed a huge reception.
At The Old Oak's presentation, Loach, who turns 87 in June, was given a standing ovation as he arrived and again rapturous applause after he spoke about his film's message of hope. The award-winning director, whose second locally-made film Sorry We Missed You was also selected for a screening at Cannes in 2019, told the packed audience: "We wanted to make a film about hope because we know the story of refugees and the pain they've had to come here.
"If we do have hope, we have confidence; we know our own strengths and can begin to change things. And we can make a better place, another world is possible so keep fighting.
"If we fight hard, we'll win." The Old Oak is now set to spread its messages far and wide,
Cannes Film Festival opens doors for the movies that make its official selection for a screening, with producers and distributors mixing in an international marketplace. The Old Oak will go on to other festivals and then on general release in the UK.
Following in the footsteps of Loach's previous films made in the region, North East fans can also expect a local red carpet screening of the film later in the year.
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