Ken Loach on Retiring After 60 Years of Filmmaking and His Respect for Jonathan Glazer’s ‘Hugely Valuable’ Oscars Speech
variety.comAlex Ritman 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 iI Joe” and “I, Daniel Blake” — is calling it a day.
Loach has announced his retirement before, of course, and on more than one occasion. So when he claimed that “The Old Oak” would be his final feature in the run up to the 2023 Cannes Film Festival — where it bowed in competition (his record-breaking 15th film to do so) — many observers took it with a pinch of salt.
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