The local pub is virtually the last community gathering place in an impoverished town in the north of England, one of those places that never recovered from the demise of the mining industry. Here, TJ (Dave Turner) is hanging on by a thread. When an influx of Syrian refugees stokes xenophobic backlash, he’s ready to step up and help the newcomers as best he can — to the disgust of some of his regulars. The word “Brexit” is never spoken in this very moving melodrama from Ken Loach and his regular screenwriter Paul Laverty (I Am Daniel Blake; Sorry We Missed You), yet the film is set in 2016 and it’s an attempt to wrestle with the implications of that referendum, a low point in the history of British socialism. The overt racism the refugees encounter is shocking, but its been seeded by decades of poverty and neglect, and Loach finds embers of hope in acts of courage, kindness and solidarity. It’s a plain and honest account of a time of discord and division.
Media Partner
Dave Turner, Ebla Mari, Claire Rodgerson
UK
2023
Special Presentations
English
Depictions of Racism, Coarse Language
Book Tickets
Indigenous & Community Access
Indigenous Access Tickets Community Access Tickets Ticket Donation Requests
Credits
Executive Producer
Pacal Caucheteux, Grégoire Sorlat, Vincent Maraval
Producer
Rebecca O’Brien
Screenwriter
Paul Laverty
Cinematography
Robbie Ryan
Editor
Johnathan Morris
Production Design
Fergus Clegg
Original Music
George Fenton
Director
Ken Loach
Ken Loach was born in 1936 in Nuneaton. He attended King Edward VI Grammar School and went on to study law at St. Peter’s Hall, Oxford. After a brief spell in the theatre, Loach was recruited by the BBC in 1963 as a television director. This launched a long career directing films for television and the cinema, from Cathy Come Home and Kes in the 1960s to The Wind that Shakes the Barley (Palme d’Or, Cannes Film Festival 2006), and I, Daniel Blake (Palme d’Or, Cannes Film Festival 2016).
Filmography: Kes (1969); Raining Stone (1993); The Wind That Shakes the Barley (2006); I, Daniel Blake (2016); Sorry We Missed You (2019)
Missing VIFF? Check out what's playing at the VIFF Centre
Laura Crema Sings Lorenz Hart
For this unique show, leading jazz vocalist Laura Crema has put together a set of some of Lorenz Hart's most memorable songs. Afterwards, enjoy Ethan Hawke's portrait of the legendary lyricist in Richard Linklater's new movie, Blue Moon.
Islands
In this sly, engrossing mystery, a dissolute English tennis coach in a Canary Islands holiday resort falls under suspicion when the husband of a beautiful guest disappears after a night of heavy drinking...
One Battle After Another
PT Anderson's breathless satire is the best political action movie of 2025, a defiantly anti-MAGA rallying cry featuring a six pack of crackerjack performances. They'll still be talking about this one 50 years from now.
The Mother and the Bear
Johnny Ma’s film stars Kim Ho-jung as a Korean woman who flies to Winnipeg when her immigrant daughter is hospitalized there. This crowd-pleaser plays up cultural differences to hilarious effect and offers a touching take on mother-daughter tension.
All That's Left of You
Jordan's submission for the Academy Awards, All That's Left of You makes the most of its epic format to chronicle seven decades of Palestinian history while tracking the psychological impact of cycles of exile and oppression on three generations.
L'Étranger
Recreating 1940s Algeria in vivid, high contrast black and white cinematography, L'Etranger is erotic, enigmatic and brutal in equal measures, a masterful screen version of Albert Camus's insoluble classic of existential alienation.