Director: Ken Loach
Script: Paul Laverty
Photography: Barry Ackroyd
Music: George Fenton
Production Design: Martin Johnson
Principal Cast: Martin Compston, Michelle Coulter, Annmarie Fulton, William Ruane, Gary McCormack, Tommy McKee
Producer: Rebecca O’Brien
Co-Producers: Ulrich Felsberg, Gerardo Herrero
Production: Sixteen Films, Road Movies Filmproduktion GmbH, Tornasol/Altafilms with the support of Scottish Screen, BBC Films; supported by Filmstiftung NRW, Glasgow Film Office for in co-op. with Diaphana Distribution, BIM Distribuzione, Cinéart and WDR
Distribution Germany: ottfilm GmbH
Tel: 0049 30 887 188 80
Fax: 0049 30 887 188 829
E-Mail: info@ottfilm.de
Internet: www.ottfilm.de
Selected Filmography Ken Loach: Kes, 1970; Family Life, 1972; After a Lifetime, 1972; Black Jack, 1978; Looks and Smiles, 1980; Which Side are You on?, 1984; Fatherland, 1985; Hidden Agenda (Geheimprotokoll), 1989; Riff-Raff, 1990; Raining Stones, 1993; Ladybird Ladybird, 1994; Land and Freedom, 1995; Carla’s Song, 1996; The Flickering Flame (Die Docker
von Liverpool), 1997; My Name is Joe, 1998; Bread and Roses, 2000; The Navigators, 2001; 11’09’01 - September 11, 2002.
Liam (Martin Compston) is 15 years old and a hardship case. He is neglected and has no perspectives, imprisoned in a miserable social settlement. His mother (Michelle Coulter) is currently in prison. She is released on Liam’s 16th birthday, and he wants to buy a mobile home to mark a new beginning of happy family life. To get the money for the first payment, he steals drugs and starts dealing together with his best buddy Pinball. Ken Loach treats the material just as angrily, pugnaciously, and intelligently as the worker dramas that made him famous. The script by Paul Laverty (“My Name Is Joe”, “Carla’s Song”) was awarded the best screenplay in Cannes. The protagonist Martin Compston is considered a shooting star of British cinema and was voted Best Newcomer at the British Independent Film Awards.