I' Daniel Blake

• Ken Loach

  • Directed I Daniel Blake
  • Works for 16 films, a small independent production company
  • Focuses on social realism as a genre
• Why not productions

  A French company that partnered with 16 films to produce I Daniel Blake
• E1 productions

  Responsible for the distribution and marketing of I Daniel Blake
• Even with all the companies involved, they still didn't have enough funding so they needed to get funding from other companies such as the BBC and the BFI
• BBC and BFI funding

  Meant the film had to fulfill certain obligations, such as showing regional areas of Britain, niche storylines, and unusual characters
• Low budget

  Meant the production had to be very specific, filming mostly on real locations, with improvised acting, and minimal extras
• BBC's remit

  As a public service broadcaster, they wanted the film to be informative and educational, as well as entertaining, and to show diversity and new talent
• Ken Loach

  • Well known for being left-wing, liberal, and exploring problems in Britain caused by government policy
  • Staunchly a Labour supporter and anti-Conservative
• Ken Loach's involvement may have made the film seem more mainstream, but overall the film feels very niche and alternative
• Regional nature of the film

  Made it challenging to distribute globally, as audiences in other countries struggled with the heavy regional accents
• Marketing techniques

  • Used traditional media like newspapers, magazines, trailers, and posters to target the older, 45+ target audience
  • Included articles in the left-wing Daily Mirror newspaper, featuring Ken Loach's name and award nominations
• Guerrilla marketing

  Techniques used by E1 Productions, such as projecting quotes and images from the film onto political buildings, and hiring regional marketing officers to promote the film locally
• The north of England

  More likely to be Labour supporters and less likely to be Conservative supporters, so targeting northern cities was a good way to find audiences that might agree with the film's ideologies
• Film premiere

  Held in Newcastle rather than London, to signify the north of England's potential engagement with the film, and to showcase the left-wing ideologies
• Jeremy Corbyn was invited to the film's premiere and later wrote an article about it for the Daily Mirror
• Use of technology

  • Little use of new technologies in the film itself, and limited use of digital marketing, likely due to the older target audience
  • Film was made available as a digital download after its cinema release
• BBFC classification

  I Daniel Blake was awarded a 15 certificate, primarily due to the emotional and disturbing nature of some scenes, and the concern that younger audiences may not understand the narrative