Ken Loach

Ken Loach (born June 17, 1936) is a British television and film director, known for his social realist style and socialist themes. Born Kenneth Loach in Nuneaton, England, he studied law at St Peter's College, Oxford. He started out as an actor in repertory theatre, but in the early 1960s moved into television direction and was credited in this role on early episodes of Z-Cars in 1962. Loach, though, made his greatest impact in the medium through docu-dramas, notably the socially influential Cathy Come Home (1966). In the late 1960s he started directing films, and made Kes, the story of a troubled boy and his kestrel, based on the novel A Kestrel for a Knave by Barry Hines. It remains perhaps his best known film in Britain. The 1970s and 80s were less successful, with his films suffering from poor distribution, lack of interest and political censorship. His film The Save the Children Fund Film (1971) was commissioned by the charity, who disliked it so much they attempted to have the negative destroyed. It has yet to be shown in public. He was also commissioned by Channel 4 to make A Question of Leadership, a documentary on the UK miners' strike. However, the programme was withheld by Channel 4 for political reasons. However, the 1990s saw Loach return to form, with the production of a series of critically acclaimed and popular films. During this period he was also three times awarded prizes at the Cannes Film Festival. - Wikipedia.org