23 May 2016

Loach wins Palme d'Or at Cannes

7:59 am on 23 May 2016

British director Ken Loach's film I, Daniel Blake has won the Palme d'Or at the Cannes Film Festival.

British director Ken Loach won the Palme d'Or at the 2016 Cannes Film Festival.

British director Ken Loach won the Palme d'Or at the 2016 Cannes Film Festival. Photo: AFP

It was the 79-year-old film-maker's second best picture award at the festival following the success of The Wind That Shakes the Barley in 2006.

His latest film explores the impact of the UK welfare system on a middle-aged widower in Newcastle after a heart attack.

Accepting the festival's top prize from actor Mel Gibson, Loach attacked 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 call neo-liberalism that have brought us to near catastrophe."

The Iranian film Forushande (The Salesman) by Asghar Farhadi won two awards at the 69th staging of Cannes - best screenplay, and best actor, won by Shahab Hosseini.

The Grand Prix went to Juste la Fin du Monde (It's Just the End of the World), directed by Canada's Xavier Dolan, while Philippine soap star Jaclyn Jose won best actress for her role in Brillante Mendoza's Ma' Rosa.

It was the 13th time that Loach, a social campaigner for most of his career and the director of more than 50 movies, has competed at the event.

I, Daniel Blake, which stars stand-up comedian Dave Johns, was written by long-time Loach collaborator Paul Laverty.

- BBC