I Daniel Blake Knowledge organiser

• Poverty is lack of access to food, housing, education, health services, and other resources required to achieve an adequate standard of living.
• Economic factors, including funding, are significant to independent British co-production
• Funding bodies for this film are the BFI (through National Lottery Funding) and the BBC
• BBC Films are the film production arm of the BBC, a prime UK example of Public Service Broadcasting
• The BBC has basic requirements/remits placed on them by the government to ensure funding
• The BFI is a film and charitable organization that promotes and preserves filmmaking and television in the UK
• Other production companies involved in funding this film include Sixteen Films and Why Not Productions
• eOne is the distribution company responsible for disseminating the film I.D.B. around the world
• Financial profits may be less important for practitioners in this genre compared to big-budget films
• Critical recognition is more important than commercial success in this genre
• Director Ken Loach has significance in British and Global cinema for securing funding for social realist films
• Consider whether I, Daniel Blake can be described as a mainstream product
• The BBFC age rates film releases in the UK, but local councils can overrule these ratings
• I, Daniel Blake received a 15 certificate due to specific scenes with verbal sexual references and expletives
• Age ratings are important for producers and distributors to guarantee an audience
• The film I, Daniel Blake addresses contemporary British social issues such as poverty and the welfare system
• The film portrays traditionally underrepresented characters in Newcastle struggling in poverty
• I, Daniel Blake conveys a clear left-wing political message and criticizes specific government policies
• Ken Loach's work has addressed similar issues of class inequality and he is known for his socialist political views
• The intended audience for this film is educated, media literate, and socially aware of political policies
• Consider the extent to which the trailer challenges ideas set out by Curran and Seaton regarding power and media industries
• The trailer may offer an experience outside the logic of profit and power
• I.D.B. is critical of British dominant ideologies and hegemonic values
• The trailer may offer a more adventurous production due to socially diverse patterns of ownership
• I, Daniel Blake is a low budget social realist film funded by the BFI and BBC
• The film adheres to the codes and conventions of British social realism film by:

  • Being filmed largely on location in existing regional buildings in Newcastle to exhibit a sense of verisimilitude
  • Featuring lesser known actors
  • Being produced on a small budget (£3.5 million)
  • Containing semi improvised dialogue
  • Containing dark humour
  • Having a lack of non diegetic music
  • Having a linear narrative
  • Not relying on special effects
• In its opening weekend in the UK, the film started off in 94 cinemas before growing to 273 cinemas due to early positive 'word of mouth' and awards recognition generating early buzz
• I, Daniel Blake eventually amassed $12.45 million worldwide, including $4.27 million in the UK and $6.4 million in France, making a healthy profit for a small independent film
• The internet has impacted heavily on the marketing of smaller independent budgeted films like I, Daniel Blake, allowing active audiences to form debates and create forums to address equal rights within the UK
• The I, Daniel Blake website includes links to social media and the trailer offers a hashtag (#idanielblake) suggesting links with Twitter
• The film was exhibited at various film festivals, received a theatrical release in Britain and various other countries, and was later released on digital download and DVD/Blu-ray
• The marketing materials establish the status and reputation of the film, with positive comments on the poster and reference to the Palme d'Or award in the trailer
• The genre of British social realist film and director Ken Loach are important factors in maintaining an audience
• Specific potential audiences that the film targets through its marketing include those with an assumed education and level of media literacy, awareness of political and social issues in the UK, and fans of Ken Loach's work in the social realism genre
• Marketing strategies for I, Daniel Blake include traditional methods such as poster campaigns and trailers in cinemas, as well as online campaigns through hashtags and social media
• Connections with Politics and the Labour party, including Labour Leader Jeremy Corbyn, support the main message behind the film, in response to the Conservative government's claims of 'saving the economy of Britain through austerity'
• The film premiered in cities in England, not London, where areas of poverty are affected by the government's 'austerity plans' the most
• I, Daniel Blake is an independent social realist film directed by renowned filmmaker Ken Loach, a UK/French co-production funded by the BFI and BBC Films
• The film became Ken Loach's largest grossing film at the box office, highly critically acclaimed, and generated much debate due to the contemporary social and political issues addressed
• I, Daniel Blake was exhibited at many film festivals, won the Palme d'Or at Cannes, and was nominated for many awards including several BAFTAs