Ken Loach attends Bristol screening of I, Daniel Blake

Ken Loach, the BAFTA-winning director of I, Daniel Blake and The Wind that Shakes the Barley, visited Hartcliffe for a special screening of his most recent film, which tackles themes of injustice and cruelty surrounding the benefits system.

The screening took place in St Andrews Church, Hartcliffe, and members of the local community were invited to attend. The film was selected for its true-to-life depiction of lives, and the wider welfare system in crisis.

“We witness these challenges in this community every week,” said Lorraine Bush, manager and CEO of Hawkspring Drug and Alcohol Support Services, one of the Hartcliffe charities that arranged the screening, along with HWCP. “Many people come to our office because they dont know where to turn.

“We see people with little or no credit on their mobile phone needing to borrow our phone to contact the benefit agency, and are then put on hold for 40-50 minutes before they get through. People tell us the job centre have sent them away and told them to make appointments online. We give out vouchers for the local food bank when people have no money for food.

“All of those examples are in I, Daniel Blake, which is why we wanted to show it and give out information about where to go to get advice and support. We wrote to Ken Loach, who agreed to come along to our viewing.  He is a very inspiring man who is willing to stand up to government and tell them how unfair the current welfare system is, and be the voice for people who otherwise would not get heard.”

The audience settles in before the screening of I, Daniel Blake

Before the screening began, director Ken Loach spoke to the audience. “I work with a writer called Paul Laverty, and we found ourselves sending each other different versions of the same story of the desparate poverty that people are in, and the conscious cruelty with which they’re treated,” he said.

“The system is there in order to trip you up. It’s not there to help you, but to make it difficult for you to claim what you are entitled to claim.”

Loach estimates that the film has been screened to communities like Hartcliffe around 900 times since its cinema release, and small, community-centred events such as this are vital to his work. He greatly stressed the importance of making people aware of the issues faced by the characters in this film.

Ken Loach addressing the audience in Hartcliffe

“It is a battle, isn’t it? It’s a battle to communicate,” he said to nods of approval.

Ken is, however, optimistic about the future. “Oddly enough, we’re in a church now, and I’m not religious, but I think the churches might have a part to play. Because the people [in government] might listen to them where they won’t listen to people on the left.

“But I do think there’s a change now. I think people sense that this situation is intolerable and that we have to change. It’s one hope we’ve got.”

Ken closed his speech by reflecting on the excellent work done in communities like Hartcliffe, by organisations like Hawkspring. “Volunteers are absolutely vital,” he said. “People rely on the generosity, support and humanity of people who work in organisations like this one.”

For more information on Hawkspring and the work they do, visit www.hawkspring.org.uk

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