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.
