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View Full Version : Q & A with Ken Loach



Macca
22-11-2014, 11:09
Attended this on Thursday last at my old Alma Mater, Keele University. Packed out a large two tier lecture theatre. We had a ten minute montage of his films and then the man himself took questions from the audience for about an hour or so. Fascinating stuff. I've never agreed with his politics (he's very much an old school Marxist) but I've always liked his films, and let's face it, Kes is a masterpiece up there with the very best films of all time. Quite a lot of the questions and the answers were political in nature but he did give some insight into why he does things the way he does. He likes to mix experienced actors with amateurs who have some direct connection to the theme/setting of the film, feeling that the pros will help out the amateurs on the practical issues and the amateurs will give the pros a feeling for what the film is about.

He doesn't go for putting on accents, if the script calls for an Irishman, for example, then he'll cast an Irishman.

He doesn't like sound stages or studios, always shoots in real rooms/buildings/locations. And he will always put the camera in a natural place, i.e somewhere in the room or in a vehicle. For example he won't shoot people sat in a car from through the windscreen because that puts the viewer on the hood of the car which is not a place they could be in real life so in doing so it would kill the suspension of disbelief.

A really entertaining afternoon and completely free. I think they are intending to put on more of this sort of thing in the future but got Loach to kick it off since he is a Keele graduate. I hope so since it is only a 30 minute bus ride away. And for those of you who have never been to Keele it is a very beautiful campus, out of the town and set in fantastic woodland and grounds. Quite choked me up to return there after so many years.