News

Tom Burke and Steve Coogan are among the lineup of British stars joining Netflix’s upcoming thriller series “Legends.”

Created and written by Neil Forsyth, the series is inspired by a real-life criminal investigations following a group of British Customs employees sent undercover to infiltrate some of the U.K.’s most dangerous criminal drug gangs.

Also joining the cast are Hayley Squires, Aml Ameen, Jasmine Blackborow, Douglas Hodge, Tom Hughes, Johnny Harris, Gerald Kyd, Charlotte Ritchie.

“Legends” is set in the early 1990s, when Her Majesty’s Customs and Excise was losing its battle with illegal drug smuggling across Britain’s borders. Their solution was to send a small team of employees undercover. As per the synopsis: “But these were not trained spies. They were normal men and women, plucked from ordinary lives around the UK, put through a basic training regime and tasked with building new identities in the criminal underworld.

Before “Emilia Pérez” made history with 13 nominations at the 2025 Oscars — tying with “Gone with the Wind,” “Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?” and “Oppenheimer” for the second-most nods of all time — the film’s producers have backed a slew of indie hits.

Now, the filmography from producers Pascal Caucheteux and Grégoire Sorlat and their banner Why Not Productions is getting its due on the big screen. IndieWire can announce that with support from Netflix, the top Why Not Productions features will return to theaters. That includes Gregg Araki’s iconic 1995 Nc-17 crime film “The Doom Generation,” Claire Denis’ “White Material,” and Lynne Ramsay’s “You Were Never Really Here.”

Araki will appear for a Q&a with “The Doom Generation” at the Egyptian on Thursday, February 6 following the 7:30 p.m. show.

Additional directors featured in the program include Ken Loach, Arnaud Desplechin, and Cristian Mungiu. The program also will have...

From the very first moments of the “The Salt Path,” frantically capturing the vestiges of one middle-aged couple’s life swept out to sea by a turbulent tide of saltwater and sorrow, director Marianne Elliott’s inspirational drama chooses a deliberately deceptive path and gets off on the wrong foot. It’s not until later that it’s discovered that this in-media-res attention grabber, which has shaded our view of these downtrodden souls’ transformative journey, is a distorted reality. It’s used to manipulate us into anticipating that their watershed moment will be dire, when it’s really their saving grace. Yet with understated performances from Gillian Anderson and Jason Isaacs, as well as immersive land and soundscapes that enhance the thematic pull, this portrait of loss, humanity and rebirth makes it worth the emotional investment.

Fifty-somethings Ray Winn (Anderson) and her husband Moth (Isaacs) are having a rough go...

Ken Loach says he has “great respect” for Jonathan Glazer in raising the subject of Gaza in his Oscars acceptance speech for “The Zone of Interest,” asserting that the director was “very brave” to say what he did. “And I’m sure he understood the possible consequences, which makes him braver still, so I’ve got great respect for him and his work,” he tells Variety.

The veteran filmmaker and campaigner is speaking ahead of the U.S. release of “The Old Oak,” a feature that also happens to be his last. After a career of more than 60 years, the British director — a two-time Palme d’Or winner who is behind a library of beloved films including “Kes,” “The Wind That Shakes the Barley,” “Land and Freedom,” “Sweet Sixteen,” “My Name is Joe” and “I, Daniel Blake” — is calling it a day.

Loach has announced his retirement before, of course,...

If you’re lucky enough to live in New York, Film Forum is mounting a 20-film Ken Loach retrospective on April 19 after his latest — and quite possibly last — film, Cannes 2023 entry “The Old Oak” starts rolling out on April 5. The British director carries the distinction of being one of nine filmmakers (among them Francis Ford Coppola and Ruben Östlund) to win the Palme d’Or twice: for the Irish history “The Wind That Shakes the Barley” (2006), starring Cillian Murphy, and healthcare drama “I, Daniel Blake” (2016).

Both times, the Competition juries were powerless to resist the films’ emotional pull.

And resistance is futile. That’s because Loach knows how to move us. His movies hit a nerve because they dig into believable characters inspired by real people and informed by current events.

Loach and his long-time screenwriter Paul Laverty do not rip stories out of the headlines so much as they...

If there was one puzzle from the 2023 Venice Film Festival, it concerned Caleb Landry Jones and the actor’s curious decision to conduct all his press arrangements for the Luc Besson thriller “Dogman” with a Scottish accent. As was later revealed, the Australian had taken a quick break from shooting U.K. drama “Harvest” on location in Scotland and was staying in character for the duration of his brief Italian detour.

Alongside honing Landry Jones’ vocal abilities, “Harvest,” being directed by Athina Rachel Tsangari (the Greek director’s first English-language film) and based on the book by Jim Crace, also marks the beginning of a new chapter for one of the U.K.’s best-known indie production companies.

Sixteen Films, co-founded by Ken Loach and producer Rebecca O’Brien in 2002, has been behind every film by the beloved and iconoclastic director over the last two decades, including “The Wind That Shakes the Barley,...

Arthouse streamer Mubi has unveiled a deal to take a majority stake in Benelux indie distributor Cineart.

Terms of the deal were not disclosed, but the agreement will see the management team at Cineart remain intact, while co-CEOs and longtime execs Marc Smit and Stephan De Potter will retain “significant” stakes in the company.

“I’ve known and worked with Marc and Stephan for over 15 years, and admire what they’ve done with Cinéart. They are two of the most sophisticated and visionary operators in the business. We are delighted to be partnering with them and the whole team at Cineart, and can’t wait to bring more great films to audiences in Benelux together,” Efe Cakarel, founder and CEO of Mubi, said in a statement on Tuesday.

Cineart was part of a multi-territory deal for Sofia Coppola’s feature Priscilla ahead of a world premiere at the Venice Film Festival.

Arthouse streamer and distributor Mubi has acquired a majority stake in leading Benelux indie distributor Cinéart, further bolstering its global firepower as it continues to expand outside of its core streaming business.

Financial details of the deal were not revealed, but the acquisition will see Cinéart’s management team continue to lead the company as an independent European distributor, with no changes in operations. Cinéart will maintain its current team structure and slate of films, and will carry on working closely with its long time partners. Co-CEOs of Cinéart, Marc Smit and Stephan De Potter, will remain significant shareholders of the company.

Founded in 1975 by the late Eliane Dubois, Cinéart has offices in Amsterdam and Brussels and has released numerous prestige independent films, including “Slumdog Millionaire,” “The Artist,” “Amour,” “I Daniel Blake,” “Deux Jours Une Nuit,” “Son of Saul,” “The Worst Person in the World,” “The Whale” and current awards contender “The Zone of Interest.

The BAFTAs have a soft spot for home-grown talent. Earlier this year, “Good Luck to You, Leo Grande” scored four bids at the British Academy Film Awards, including Best Actor (Daryl McCormack) and Best Actress (Emma Thompson). Before that, in 2022, Adeel Akhtar snuck into the Best Actor lineup for “Ali & Ava” and Joanna Scanlan won Best Actress for “After Love.”

This pattern of Brits recognizing Brits could bode well for Daniel Kaluuya this year, who makes his directorial debut with the new Netflix drama “The Kitchen.” The film depicts a dystopian London in which all social housing has been eliminated. The focus in the story are the residents of The Kitchen, a community that refuses to leave their homes despite their struggles. At the heart of the film is Kane Robinson‘s (also known as Kano) Izi, who takes Jedaiah Bannerman‘s young boy under his wing and tries...

Awards contender “Poor Things” will open EnergaCamerimage, the cinematography-focused film festival that will take place in Torun, Poland, on Nov. 11-18.

The film, starring Emma Stone and directed by Greek helmer Yorgos Lanthimos, won the Golden Lion at the Venice Film Festival. Irish cinematographer Robbie Ryan, who lensed the film, will introduce “Poor Things” at Camerimage.

Lanthimos and Ryan previously collaborated on “The Favourite,” which in 2018 competed for Camerimage’s Golden Frog Award in the fest’s main competition, and came away with the Audience Award. “The Favourite” received 10 Oscar noms, including for best picture, directing and cinematography.

As well as “The Favourite,” Lanthimos has had two other films in contention in the Oscar race, “Dogtooth” (2008) and “The Lobster” (2015).

“Poor Things,” in keeping with the eccentricities of Lanthimos’ other movies, traces the evolution of Bella Baxter, a young Victorian woman brought back from her death by suicide by a brilliant scientist,...

Speciality distributor Cosmic Cat has set U.K. release dates for documentary “Cassius X: Becoming Ali.”

The film follows the early years of Cassius Clay, from a bright-eyed rookie boxer from Louisville, Kentucky, to world heavyweight champion and from working class intellectual to one of America’s most influential civil rights campaigners. The film reveals how the teachings of Elijah Muhammad, reinforced by a friendship with revolutionary preacher, Malcolm X, set Clay on the journey to become Cassius X, before his induction to the Nation of Islam and ascension to the name of Muhammad Ali.

“Cassius X: Becoming Ali” is directed by Muta’Ali Muhammad (“Yusuf Hawkins: Storm Over Brooklyn”) and is based on the book “Cassius X: A Legend In The Making” by journalist Stuart Cosgrove. It is produced by Two Rivers Media (“The Small Hand (Ghost Story),” “Killing Escobar”) in association with Paramount Media Networks and MTV Entertainment Studios...

Zeitgeist Films and Kino Lorber announced on Tuesday that they have acquired the U.S. distribution rights to Ken Loach’s final film “The Old Oak” with a planned release in early 2024.

Zeitgeist and Kino Lorber previously released Loach’s 2020 film “Sorry We Missed You” and will first release “The Old Oak” at the Film Forum in New York before expanding it to arthouses nationwide.

“We’re delighted that Zeitgeist has taken ‘The Old Oak’ for distribution in the U.S. It’s great that they’ve chosen to partner with us again after working together on ‘Sorry We Missed You,'” said Loach and his producing partner Rebecca O’Brien in a statement. “We feel that Zeitgeist Films is ideally placed to help our film reach the widest possible audience in the territory and know they will release the film with gusto.”

“The Old Oak” follows Tj, the owner of...

StudioCanal has debuted the trailer for Ken Loach and Paul Laverty’s ”The Old Oak.’

The Old Oak is a special place. Not only is it the last pub standing, but it’s also the only remaining public space where people can meet in a once-thriving mining community that has now fallen on hard times after 30 years of decline. Tj Ballantyne (Dave Turner) the landlord hangs on to The Old Oak by his fingertips, and his predicament is endangered even more when the pub becomes contested territory after the arrival of Syrian refugees who are placed in the village without any notice.

In an unlikely friendship, Tj meets a curious young Syrian Yara (Ebla Mari) with her camera. Can they find a way for the two communities to understand each other? So unfolds a deeply moving drama about their fragilities and hopes.

The film sees BAFTA-winning director Loach returns to...

Updated May 26, 2023: The Cannes jury will hand out its awards on Saturday, May 27. The final predictions for which films and performances will win are listed below.

The Cannes Film Festival has had its fair share of impressive movie premieres this year, with audiences embracing new films from the likes of Jonathan Glazer, Todd Haynes and Hirokazu Kore-eda. But even the most sustained standing ovation doesn’t guarantee that a movie will walk away with the Palme d’Or, Cannes’ highest honor.

It all depends on the vagaries of the jury’s taste, and this one is headed up by Ruben Östlund, a two time Palme d’Or winner for “Triangle of Sadness” and “The Square.” And it’s not just Östlund’s decision to make. The ultimate victor will come down to the personal opinions of jury members Maryam Touzani, Denis Ménochet, Rungano Nyoni, Brie Larson, Paul Dano, Atiq Rahimi,...

Will Ken Loach three-peat with what could be his last-ever feature? This is the question that Thierry Frémaux put forth and perhaps the best was indeed saved for last. The Kitchen Sink auteur has placed three Jury Prize-winning films in 90’s Hidden Agenda, 93’s Raining Stones and 2012’s The Angels’ Share along with Palme d’Or winning The Wind That Shakes the Barley (2006) and I, Daniel Blake (2016). Of course, we can’t forget the Critics Week selected Kes. The Old Oak was the last of the twenty films in comp.

This sounds a bit familiar. A pub landlord in a previously thriving mining community struggles to hold onto his pub.…...

On a recent morning in Cannes, Scottish singer-songwriter Donovan sat over coffee at the Hotel Martinez and recalled a phone call he received nearly 60 years ago, not long after he’d made a splash on the British folk scene. On the other end of the line was a rising screenwriter and director called Ken Loach. “He said he was making his first feature…and would I help him with the music?” Donovan told Variety.

The film, a kitchen sink drama called “Poor Cow,” based on a novel by British playwright and author Neil Dunn, tells the story of a working-class single mother leading a hard-luck life in the slums of London. It’s a movie that set the tone for the type of social drama that propelled Loach throughout a remarkable, prolific career.

This week at the Cannes Film Festival, Loach will bow what he says will be his final film,...

The 1970 edition of the Cannes Film Festival was noted for giving rise to several bold new voices. Robert Altman arrived as an established (and notoriously troublesome) TV director but left a Palme d’Or winner with M*A*S*H, his launchpad to becoming one of the most pivotal figures of contemporary cinema. In the Directors’ Fortnight competition, then a year old, the German absurdist comedy Even Dwarfs Started Small gave audiences a hint of what a 20-something festival first-timer named Werner Herzog might have up his creative sleeve.

Over in the Critics’ Week sidebar, a rising English director named Ken Loach also was making his Cannes debut (like Herzog with his second feature).

The bespectacled 33-year-old had arrived as part of what he describes as a “rather snooty” U.K. delegation that didn’t have much time for someone then known for hard-hitting TV docudramas and not considered part...

Grab your baguettes, everybody, it’s time to head back to the Cannes Film Festival.

Iris Knobloch, the new president of the festival, presented the bulk of this year’s slate, with artistic director Thierry Frémaux at her side. The main competition sees a number of returning veterans, as well as some new faces.

There are not too many movies in the main competition this year coming from directors that also work in the Hollywood orbit. The ones that do include: “Asteroid City” from Wes Anderson, which stars Jason Schwartzman, Scarlett Johansson, Tom Hanks, and countless other stars; “May December” from Todd Haynes, which stars Julianne Moore and Natalie Portman (a movie about an unlikely couple also produced by one: Christine Vachon and Will Ferrell); and a new one from Jonathan Glazer called “The Zone of Interest,” a film set at Auschwitz based on a novel by Martin Amis. Austrian...

It’s safe to say that no filmmaker has put more time into the struggles of the working class than Ken Loach. The 86-year-old British director has been making socially conscious dramas since the 1960s, when his kitchen sink drama “Cathy Come Home” aired as part of the BBC’s “The Wednesday Play” anthology. He has fixated on the victims of governmental neglect and oppression with an intimate gaze ever since, gaining momentum where many storytellers wound wind down: In 2006, he won the Palme d’Or for “The Wind That Shakes the Barley,” and nabbed a second for 2016’s “I, Daniel Blake,” a movie he came out of retirement to make.

Now he’s readying a new immigration drama, “The Old Oak,” which is expected to be ready for this year’s Cannes.

In the midst of this prolific career, Loach has also produced a steady stream of documentaries that reflect his socialist ideals.

After the Oscars, the Palme d’Or is the most prestigious film award in the business, and it’s a lot less predictable. Coming from a jury usually comprised of actors and directors, it arrives as the outcome of furious debate and often conflicting values about the nature of the art form. There is no mathematical formula for predicting the Palme d’Or, and educated guesswork can be misleading, but it’s still worth a shot.

Handed out at the festival since 1955, the golden prize represents the pinnacle of prestige for the filmmaker who receives it. As Cannes presents itself as the nexus of the greatest cinema on the planet, the prize is an extension of that mentality, and it invites winners into an exclusive club that spans film history. Recipients of the Palme d’Or have ranged from “Black Orpheus” and “La Dolce Vita” to “Apocalypse Now.” In some cases,...

Out of Cannes, “Parasite” marks the most notable example of a Palme d’Or winner that went on to win big not only at the global box office but also subsequent awards, including four Oscars: Best Picture, Director, Original Screenplay, and International Film. (Only “Marty” in 1955 has also followed a Palme d’Or win with a Best Picture Oscar.) Cannes is a mighty marketing platform, but winning the top prize did little to turn such films as Jacques Audiard’s “Dheepan” (2015) or Ken Loach’s “The Wind That Shakes the Barley” (2006) and “I, Daniel Blake” (2016) into Oscar contenders. France didn’t submit “Dheepan” that year, sending Paul Verhoeven’s more popular Cannes entry “Elle” into contention instead; French star Isabelle Huppert went on to score a Best Actress Oscar nomination.

Truth is, outside of the Best International Film category, it takes some success at the box office to push a...

Out of Cannes, “Parasite” marks the most notable example of a Palme d’Or winner that went on to win big not only at the global box office but also subsequent awards, including four Oscars: Best Picture, Director, Original Screenplay, and International Film. (Only “Marty” in 1955 has also followed a Palme d’Or win with a Best Picture Oscar.) Cannes is a mighty marketing platform, but winning the top prize did little to turn such films as Jacques Audiard’s “Dheepan” (2015) or Ken Loach’s “The Wind That Shakes the Barley” (2006) and “I, Daniel Blake” (2016) into Oscar contenders. France didn’t submit “Dheepan” that year, sending Paul Verhoeven’s more popular Cannes entry “Elle” into contention instead; French star Isabelle Huppert went on to score a Best Actress Oscar nomination.

Truth is, outside of the Best International Film category, it takes some success at the box office to push a...

Awards season can often feel like a months-long echo chamber in which the same handful of films and names are discussed to death. So when BAFTA threw in a number of left-field contenders who had hitherto been largely absent from the conversation, it was both a refreshing change of pace for jaded awards pundits — and a welcome pointer for film fans seeking new recommendations.

It’s rare for BAFTA to shine a major spotlight on work that isn’t being equivalently championed across the Atlantic: In 2016, it took a surge of public conversation and political debate to get Ken Loach’s resonant British welfare drama “I, Daniel Blake” into the best film category, despite no U.S. buzz to speak of.

Until this year, it was the only film this century to score in BAFTA’s top category and receive no Oscar nominations at all.

This year, however, BAFTA flew...

In today’s Global Bulletin, Acorn TV greenlights “Queens of Mystery” season two; NATPE Budapest confirms in-person event in August; Lionsgate Play unveils “U-Special” — its second original series in India; ITV commissions relationship drama “You & Me”; Dave Johns joins the cast of “I’m Still Ethan”; Mexico’s Dopamine creates a new in-house entertainment team; Spanish courts proceed with a reckless homicide case against adult film star Nacho Vidal; Front Row nabs “The Present” and deals it to Netflix; and the New Voice Awards reveals its 2021 winners.

Renewal

AMC Networks-owned streaming platform Acorn TV has renewed its Primetime Emmy-nominated British crime series “Queens of Mystery” for a second season.

Created by Julian Unthank, who co-writes with Matthew Thomas (“Marcella”), season two sees the return of Julie Graham (“The Bletchley Circle”), Sarah Woodward (“The Pale Horse”) and Siobhan Redmond (“Unforgotten”), joined by newcomer Florence Hall (“The Princess Switch: Switched Again...

The I, Daniel Blake star on her parents’ generosity, working in a call centre and her love of ice-cream

Born in London, Squires, 32, studied at Rose Bruford College in London. She starred in the Ken Loach film, I, Daniel Blake in 2016, earning a Bafta nomination and winning most promising newcomer at the British Independent Film awards. Her West End debut in Cat On A Hot Tin Roof followed in 2017. Her television work includes The Miniaturist and Collateral; in the autumn she will play the lead in the Channel 4 drama, Adult Material.

What is your greatest fear?

Snakes.

Curated retrospectives include Cannes winners, genre, family documentaries.

IFC Films has launched The Indie Theater Revival Project and curated 20 retrospective programmes for Us theatres when they emerge from lockdown, offering library titles for free during the first month they open.

The selections comprise approximately 200 films spanning IFC Films’ 20-year history – the company celebrates its anniversary this year – and IFC Films said on Tuesday (21) it will make them available to cinemas starting on May 29.

Theatres will be able to book any number of the retrospective programmes, in part or in total, any time through the first month after they reopen. No...

In an effort to help independently-owned movie theaters recover from the coronavirus pandemic, IFC Films announced on Tuesday that it will offer over 200 of its films to those theaters without any rental fees. This will help give those theaters some classic films to screen when they reopen while they wait for new films to be released.

“Independent theaters across the country have been essential partners for us at IFC Films, and we would not be where we are today without their support,” the distributor announced in a statement. “We wanted to take the first step and let theaters know that we are committed to helping them reopen their doors by providing a selection of films to program while the new release landscape gets back to normal.”

Dubbed “The Indie Revival Project,” the program will offer selections from IFC’s catalog in various curated packs, including a “Yes We Cannes!” program...

IFC Films is offering embattled indie theaters hundreds of films from its library to screen when they re-open from their mass Covid-19 related shutdown.

The movies, which include such IFC classics as “Y Tu Mama Tambien” and “Boyhood,” will be made available to cinemas without any rental fees. The retrospective program boasts roughly 200 films. Theaters will not be charged any film rental.

“We are honoring the partnership we’ve had with theaters over the last 20 years and we’re sending them a message of solidarity and gratefulness,” said Lisa Schwartz, co-president of IFC Films. “They’ve been with us since beginning and when they come back, we want to be there with them.”

The indie studio is currently celebrating its 20th anniversary and had been putting together programming to honor the occasion. After coronavirus closed most theaters in March, IFC began to rethink its plans.

“This was a positive way...

For Kahleen Crawford, casting director for BBC and HBO series “His Dark Materials,” being successful at her job requires a gut instinct mixed with a bit of magic. “A lot of it is psychology,” she says. “You have to apply different parts of your skill set to different people in different projects.”

Crawford has often applied that skill set in the service of director Ken Loach, who gave the now 41-year-old her first job heading a department 17 years ago in 2004’s “Ae Fond Kiss,” and whose latest film, “Sorry We Missed You,” bowed in the U.S. on March 6. It’s her ninth feature with the director — and first since 2016’s Palme d’Or-winning “I, Daniel Blake.”

Loach is renowned for finding and casting unknown or non-actors, and Crawford’s goal was to find people the audience could relate to.

“Paul [Laverty, Loach’s writer for the bulk of his films] and Ken will know where they’re thinking of...

Alex Hamilton has been appointed CEO of StudioCanal U.K., with current CEO Nicola Shindler — who only joined the company in late 2018 — moving to Cco. He will report to group CEO Anna Marsh and will join the company April 22.

A hugely respected name in the industry, Hamilton was most recently president of international film and managing director of Entertainment One's U.K. arm, spearheading its British business and overseeing major successful releases including the Twilight franchise; 12 Years a Slave; Mr. Turner; The Bfg; I, Daniel Blake; Stan & Ollie; and Green Book. During his years at eOne, he oversaw the growth ...

Alex Hamilton has been appointed CEO of StudioCanal U.K., with current CEO Nicola Shindler — who only joined the company in late 2018 — moving to Cco. He will report to group CEO Anna Marsh and will join the company April 22.

A hugely respected name in the industry, Hamilton was most recently president of international film and managing director of Entertainment One's U.K. arm, spearheading its British business and overseeing major successful releases including the Twilight franchise; 12 Years a Slave; Mr. Turner; The Bfg; I, Daniel Blake; Stan & Ollie; and Green Book. During his years at eOne, he oversaw the growth ...

Paris — “Narcos” showrunner Chris Brancato and “Godfather of Harlem” star Giancarlo Esposito, actors Carole Bouquet and Zabou Breitman, and the cast and crew behind the Canal Plus series “The Bureau” will be among the many guest of honor at this year’s Series Mania, which will kick off its 11th edition on March 20.

Returning to the north-eastern French city of Lille, Series Mania will once again offer a broad cross-section of international scripted dramas, with a selection culled from 25 different countries including Chile, Peru, Niger, Senegal and South Korea, alongside high profile productions from the U.S., the U.K. and France.

Among the 38 productions world premiering in Lille, the BBC/Tvnz literary adaption “The Luminaries,” with Eva Green, will play as opening series while the closer remains unannounced.

Once again, Netflix makes a strong showing this year. Beyond bringing the cast and crew of their Paris-set drama “The Eddy,...

British film and TV producer Tony Garnett, founder of “Bodyguard” producer World Productions, died Sunday at the age of 83.

His death was confirmed by the ITV Studios-backed World Productions, which released the following statement Sunday night: “After a short illness, Tony Garnett, the legendary TV and film producer and founder of World Productions, died around midday on January 12. Tony was a great man and an inspirational producer who will be sorely missed by everyone who knew him.”

The Birmingham, U.K.-born Garnett began his career as an actor in the 1960s before going on to produce TV movies such as “Cathy Come Home” and “Kes” with “I, Daniel Blake” director Ken Loach – a frequent collaborator.

His work was known for a hard-nosed social realism that tackled issues such as homelessness and abortion.

Garnett worked in Hollywood in the 1980s, where he produced films such as “Earth Girls Are Easy,...

Netflix might be skipping this year’s Cannes Film Festival, but the streaming giant is offering a bit of a mea culpa in its April offerings, which come with some exciting options from bonafide auteurs who also happen to be Cannes regulars, including Lee Chang-Dong, Andrea Arnold, and Quentin Tarantino. Ken Loach’s Palme d’Or winner “I, Daniel Blake” will also join Netflix’s ranks next month, along with classics like “All the President’s Men,” “Bonnie and Clyde,” and “Deliverance.”

In April, Netflix will add Lee’s lauded Cannes competitor “Burning,” which missed out on Oscar love but picked up plenty of other accolades during last year’s awards circuit, including a number of nods for star Steven Yeun. It will be joined by Arnold’s 2016 Palme d’Or entry “American Honey,” along with an extended version of Tarantino’s “The Hateful Eight”.

The streaming service will also...

The British Independent Film Awards – the BIFAs to its friends – have for years been something of oracle when it comes to finding British talent destined for greatness.

In their "most promising newcomer" category, future acting stars have been given their first real taste of awards acclaim before being lured towards the bright lights of major studios and networks. Previous nominees have included the likes of John Boyega (long before Star Wars), Will Poulter, Dev Patel, Gugu Mbatha-Raw, Jodie Whittaker, Cara Delevingne, Bel Powley, Andrea Riseborough, Craig Roberts and Joanne Froggatt.

2016's winner was I, Daniel Blake's Hayley Squires, who has...

From La La Land’s potential sweep to an overlooked diversity conundrum, Screen weighs in.

Screen runs down eight talking points ahead of tonight’s 70th British Academy Film Awards at the Royal Albert Hall in London. Check back in at 6.30pm GMT to follow our coverage live.

1. Will La La Land sweep?

Will La La Land sweep the boards following its mighty 11 nominations or will Moonlight or Ken Loach’s I, Daniel Blake be able to pull off an upset or two?

2. Will Arrival or Nocturnal Animals feel the love?

Following their near-Oscar shutout, can two of this year’s Venice favourites find cheer among UK voters?...

Fresh from winning Palme d’Or with I, Daniel Blake, veteran director says he hopes it will affect government policy the same way as earlier film Cathy Come Home

Film-maker Ken Loach has called the benefits system a “cruel bureaucracy” which makes users feel inferior and desperate in an interview after winning his second Palme d’Or at the Cannes film festival.

Loach clinched the festival’s highest honour for his welfare state drama I, Daniel Blake, about a carpenter struggling with the inanities and indignities of the benefits system.

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British film director Ken Loach wins the Palme d’Or at this year’s Cannes film festival for I, Daniel Blake. It’s the second time he has won the festival’s top honour. I, Daniel Blake is a social-realist drama about a disabled carpenter struggling with the red tape of the benefits system. “We must give a message of hope. We must say another world is possible and necessary,’ he said as he accepted the award. Photograph: Afp Photo/Valery Hache/Getty Images

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First let me say to the esteemed jury of the 69th Cannes Film Festival, picking Ken Loach’s moving and vital I, Daniel Blake, about a carpenter fighting to retain his benefits after losing his livelihood because of a debilitating health crisis, was an inspired choice — especially for a film that came so early in the festival and could have been forgotten or had its impact lessened by the tsunami of other contenders that followed. The emotional impact of the movie, which…...

All the awards at the 69th Cannes film festival, as it happens, with Ken Loach’s powerful polemic winning the big prize

8.50pm BST

Right, I’m off. Make sure you head back later to the film site to see Peter Bradshaw’s full analysis of the winners. If only all awards shows were this gloriously short.

8.36pm BST

The stars of I, Daniel Blake react on Twitter here. The film doesn’t have a UK release date confirmed yet but it’s likely to be pushed around awards time.

Omg we've won the Palme D'or our film

I Daniel Blake ..I'm blow away

Palme 'dor tears flowing across the sea mate. @SixteenFilms love you all, greatest team in the world!!!

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Update, 12:26 Pm Pt: The Cannes jury said this was the longest deliberation process in the history of the festival as tonight’s awards ceremony began. Following conventional wisdom, there are some head-scratchers in the mix (stay tuned for Pete Hammond’s analysis). The Palme d’Or went to Ken Loach’s well-regarded I, Daniel Blake, a social drama about a an ailing carpenter’s struggle against the bureaucracy of the healthcare system. The 79-year-old director had previously…...

Amid the fashion and famous faces at the Cannes Film Festival, it is sometimes easy to forget the annual gathering's main focus is celebrating the art of cinema. The 69th annual 11-day festival, held in France, awarded its top honors on Sunday, coming to a close until next May. I, Daniel Blake, directed by Ken Loach, 79, was awarded the Palme d'Or, the festival's highest prize. The film follows the welfare battle of a 59-year-old Englishman who becomes ill shortly before meeting a struggling single mother. Loach has won the Palme once before, for 2006's Cillian Murphy-starring drama The Wind That That Shakes the Barley.

One of the more surprising Cannes awards ceremonies has just ended, with Ken Loach becoming a two-time Palme d’Or winner with his I, Daniel Blake, about a 59-year-old carpenter battling England’s health care system following a heart attack, winning the top prize. (The director’s The Wind that Swept the Barley won the Palme in 2006.) I, Daniel Blake, while not one of the buzzier titles in the Competition, was generally well received; the same can’t be said for the jury’s Grand Prix, awarded to Xavier Dolan’s It’s Only the End of the World. Variety’s Guy Lodge tweeted, “Giving Xavier Dolan […]...

Ken Loach says he is alarmed that things have changed so little since Cathy Come Home Photo: Richard Mowe

One of the most divisive Cannes Film Festivals in recent memory found several films polarising critical and public opinion, but one that was universally applauded has won the Palme d’Or at tonight’s closing ceremony (22 May) - veteran British film-maker Ken Loach’s I, Daniel Blake.

“Cannes is very important for the future of cinema. Stay strong please,” said Loach who received the award from Mel Gibson. “To receive this in this situation is strange for us, because we have to remember the people who inspired us to make the film. Cinema combines the world of imagination and the world we live in and the world we live in is at a dangerous point at the moment. Millions of people are in serious hardship. Cinema has many traditions and one...

In CompetitionPalme d'Or – I, Daniel Blake, directed by Ken Loach. Grand Prix – It's Only the End of the World, directed by Xavier Dolan.Jury Prize – American Honey, directed by Andrea Arnold. Best Director – Olivier Assayas for Personal Shopper and Cristian Mungiu for Graduation. Best Actor – Shahab Hosseini for The Salesman.Best Actress – Jaclyn Jose for Ma' Rosa.Best Screenplay – Asghar Farhadi for The Salesman.Un Certain RegardPrix Un Certain Regard – The Happiest Day in the Life of Olli Mäki, directed by Juho KuosmanenJury Prize – Harmonium, directed by Köji Fukada. Best Director – Captain Fantastic, directed by Matt Ross. Best Screenplay – Delphine Coulin and Muriel Coulin for The Stopover. Special Prize – The Red Turtle, directed by Michael Dudok de WitCamera d'OrCamera d'Or – Divines, directed by Houda Benyamina.Critics' WeekCritics' Week Grand Prize – Mimosas, directed by Oliver Laxe. FIPRESCICompetition Fipresci Prize – Toni Erdmann, directed by Maren AdeUn Certain Regard Fipresci Prize – Caini, directed...

The 79-year-old Briton has triumphed at the Cannes film festival for the second time with his welfare state drama, as Andrea Arnold’s American Honey takes third prize and dark horses pick up awards across the board

There were shocks and surprises – and even talk of a renegade jury – at the closing ceremony for the 69th Cannes film festival. Few of the perceived favourites picked up prizes, while some movies derided as turkeys triumphed – and the one-award-per-movie rule also appeared to have been torn up.

Related: I, Daniel Blake review: Ken Loach's welfare state polemic is blunt, dignified and brutally moving

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Palme d’Or I, Daniel Blake, dir: Ken Loach Grand Prize Xavier Dolan, It’s Only The End Of The World Best Director Tie Cristian Mungiu, Graduation Olivier Assayas, Personal Shopper Jury Prize American Honey,...

Twelve days of cinephile heaven are over as the Cannes Film Festival wraps up for another year. This evening in the south of France, the George Miller led jury have made their selection of the winners. And as per usual, there were some major curveballs. Ashgar Farhadi‘s well-received, but not particularly wildly acclaimed “The Salesman” […]

The post Cannes: Ken Loach’s ‘I, Daniel Blake’ Wins Palme d’Or; Xavier Dolan Takes Grand Prix, Andrea Arnold Nabs Jury Prize appeared first on The Playlist.

British filmmaker Ken Loach wins second Palme d’Or; Asghar Farhadi’s The Salesman wins two.Scroll down for full list of winners

Ken Loach’s I, Daniel Blake has won the Palme d’Or at the 69th Cannes Film Festival (May 11-22), marking the second time the British filmmaker has won the top prize after The Wind That Shakes The Barley in 2006.

The 79-year-old filmmaker returned for a record 13th Competition entry with the tale of an injured carpenter and single mother caught in a bureaucracy nightmare within the UK welfare system.

Accepting the Palme d’Or from actor Mel Gibson, Loach used his acceptance speech to spotlight the “dangerous project of austerity”.

“We must give a message of hope, we must say another world is possible,” he said. “The world we live in is at a dangerous point right now. We are in the grip of a dangerous project of austerity driven by ideas that we...

The time has come to award this year’s winners, including the recipient of the coveted Palme d’Or. Screen is at the ceremony… and the first winners have been announced.

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Palme d’Or

I, Daniel Blake, Ken Loach (UK)

Grand Prix

It’s Only The End Of The World (Juste La Fin Du Monde), Xavier Dolan (Canada)

Best Director

Olivier Assayas, Personal Shopper (France)

&

Cristian Mungiu, Graduation (Bacalaureat) (Romania)

Best Screenplay

Asghar Farhadi, The Salesman (Forushande) (Iran)

Jury Prize

American Honey, Andrea Arnold (UK)

Best Actor

Shahab Hosseini, The Salesman (Forushande)

Dir. Asghar Farhadi (Iran)

Best Actress

Jaclyn Jose, Ma’ Rosa

Dir. Brilliante Mendoza (Philippines)

Honorary Palme d’or

Jean-Pierre Léaud

Camera d’Or

Divines, Houda Benyamina

Best Short Film

Timecode, Juanjo Gimenez (Spain)

Short Film Special Mention

The Girl who Danced with the Devil (A Moça Que Dançou Com O Diabo),João Paulo Miranda Maria (Brazil)

The jury, presided over by...