The Old Oak

In County Durham in 2016, publican TJ struggles to sustain his watering hole, The Old Oak, in a once-prosperous mining village. His few regulars spend their days venting about the area’s decline and their own financial troubles. This discontent spikes into anger following the arrival of Syrian refugees, and xenophobic tensions grow between the two traumatised groups. But when TJ forms a friendship with Mara, a young Syrian woman, the two team up to bring both communities together and show they have much more in common.

This is another gritty, social drama from director Ken Loach and screenwriter Paul Laverty, who brought you I, Daniel Blake, and Sorry We Missed You. Despite its unflinching and difficult look at societal conflict, it opens the door for compassion and the hope that people from all walks of life can live together.

“a testament to a director who has never abandoned his beliefs” Independent

“it’s hard to remain unmoved by Loach’s optimism and his undimmed faith in the human spirit” Daily Express

“astute in its depiction of a disenfranchised community, ravaged by vulture property speculators and post-industrialisation” Irish Times

“the chemistry between Turner and Mari leads to a relationship rarely seen in cinema.” IndieWire

15: very strong language, racism theme