'I, Daniel Blake' and the importance of social realism

To mark the release of Ken Loach's new drama, I, Daniel Blake, we sent our young reporter Joe along to interview both the renowned director himself, as well as the film's writer Paul Laverty and actors Dave Johns and Hayley Squires. 

Famed for his provocative politics and focus on working class lives, giving a voice to the persecuted and impoverished, Loach is arguably the defining voice in the British tradition of social realist drama and has been making films for nearly fifty years. In the video above, Loch and Squires discuss what draws them to stories with wider significance, what it was like working with the two young actors who play Kate's children, and the role film can play in bringing such issues to young people.

In the video below, Laverty and Johns discuss what drew them to tell such a resonant story at this particular moment in time, the unique approach Loach takes to filmmaking and the advice he offered his actors, and how important it is that young people question both the world around them and media they consume.

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