I, Daniel Blake

Ken Loach directs this drama that follows a 59-year-old joiner as he tries to navigate the British benefits system. In the North-East of England, widower Daniel Blake (Dave Johns) is forced to stop working when he is taken ill with heart disease and so applies for Employment and Support Allowance from the Government. But his life is further thrown into disarray when his benefits are suddenly taken away from him and he is forced to jump through the many hoops of the bureaucratic system to get them back. During this time, he meets the similarly-troubled single mother Katie (Hayley Squires) whose financial problems mean she is being forced out of her home in London along with her two kids Dylan and Daisy (Dylan McKiernan and Briana Shann). The film was nominated for five BAFTAs including Best Film, Best Director (Loach), Best Original Screenplay and Best Supporting Actress (Squires) and won the award for Outstanding British Film of the Year.

Cast

Dave Johns, Hayley Squires, Dylan McKiernan, Briana Shann, Mick Laffey, Harriet Ghost

Genres

Drama

Language

English