‘The Old Oak,’ Ken Loach’s Final Film, Acquired for U.S. Release by Zeitgeist and Kino Lorber

thewrap.com:

“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 the last standing pub in a once booming mining town in Northern England that has now been abandoned by the economy and the government.

The town’s continued decline has created an air of simmering anger and resentment among its residents that only gets worse when a group of Syrian refugees move in.

But a spark of hope is found when TJ forms an unlikely friendship with one of the refugees — a woman named Yara — who could bridge a seemingly impossible divide. “The Old Oak” marks the end of a six-decade directorial career for the 87-year-old Loach, who has been known in Britain for his socialist activism and his work in feature films, television and documentaries that explore issues of poverty, labor rights and social inequality.