The Old Oak + Q&A

Ken Loach's 'final' film is a return to the North East, the location of his last two films – I, Daniel Blake (2016), a scathing attack on the UK's welfare system that won the Palme d'Or at Cannes, and the acclaimed Sorry We Missed You (2019), which followed a struggling family ravaged by the gig economy.

We are delighted to welcome the film's producer, Rebecca O'Brien, who will share insights into how the film was made and working with these themes with the cast, crew and director.

A fundraiser for Refugee Week 2024. Tickets £10 (proceeds go to The Refugee Buddy Project )   

The Old Oak marks the third film in a loose trilogy where the future for the last remaining pub, The Old Oak, in a village of Northeast England, is in the balance. People are leaving the land as the mines are closed, and houses are cheap and available, making it an ideal location for Syrian refugees.

Set in 2016, it follows TJ Ballantyne (Dave Turner), a pub owner in a decaying former mining village in North-East England, who forms a friendship with a young Syrian woman Yara (Ebla Mari), when a community of Syrian refugees are moved into the area. TJ and Yara attempt to unite their disparate communities, and overcome xenophobia from the locals and the ensuing cultural clash.

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