Ken Loach’s Cannes Competition Drama ‘The Old Oak’ Gets U.S. Deal

EXCLUSIVE: Zeitgeist Films and Kino Lorber have acquired all U.S. rights to Ken Loach’s Cannes Competition entry The Old Oak, which has been mooted to be the veteran filmmaker’s last movie.

The Old Oak, which has a screenplay from Loach’s frequent collaborator Paul Laverty, will open theatrically in early 2024 at Film Forum in New York with a national release set to follow.

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The movie revolves around The Old Oak, the last standing pub in a once thriving mining village in northern England, and a gathering space for a community that has fallen on hard times. There is growing anger, resentment, and a lack of hope among the residents, but the pub and its proprietor TJ are a fond presence to their customers. When a group of Syrian refugees move into the floundering village, a decisive rift fueled by prejudices develops between the community and its newest inhabitants. The formation of an unexpected friendship between TJ and a young Syrian woman named Yara opens up new possibilities for the divided village.

Zeitgeist Co-Presidents Emily Russo and Nancy Gerstman negotiated the deal with Eva Diederix of Goodfellas. Photon Films will release the film in Canada.

Loach and Laverty won the Cannes Palme d’Or for The Wind That Shakes The Barley and I, Daniel Blake. Zeitgeist and Kino Lorber previously released the duo’s Cannes contender Sorry We Missed You in the U.S.

In a statement, Ken Loach and his producing collaborator Rebecca O’Brien of Sixteen Films said: “We’re delighted that Zeitgeist has taken The Old Oak for distribution in the U.S. It’s great that they’ve chosen to partner with us again after working together on Sorry We Missed You. We feel that Zeitgeist Films is ideally placed to help our film reach the widest possible audience in the territory and know they will release the film with gusto.”

Zeitgeist Co-Presidents Nancy Gerstman and Emily Russo said: “The Old Oak is a culmination of Loach and Laverty’s continuing concern with the most pressing issues of our time. We were truly brought to tears by this extremely relevant and moving story. The feelings expressed in this film are a reminder that a bit of kindness and understanding make a huge difference.”

In 2017, Zeitgeist entered into a multi-year partnership with fellow arthouse film distributor Kino Lorber.

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