I, Daniel Blake

• 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
• 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 no big set pieces or studios
• 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
• Regional nature of the film


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


  • Included traditional media like newspapers, magazines, trailers, and posters, to target the older, 45+ audience
  • Guerrilla marketing techniques like projecting quotes and images onto political buildings
• I Daniel Blake used very little new technology, both in the film itself and in its marketing, likely due to the older target audience
• BBFC classification


  The film was awarded a 15 certificate, primarily due to the emotional and disturbing nature of some scenes, which the BBFC felt younger audiences may not understand
• I, Daniel Blake is an independent social realist film directed by renowned filmmaker Ken Loach
• A UK/French co-production, it received funding from the BFI and BBC Films
• Became Ken Loach’s largest grossing film at the box office and was highly critically acclaimed and generated much debate due to the contemporary social and political issues addressed in the film.
• 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
• I, Daniel Blake addresses contemporary British social issues such as poverty, the welfare system and the Work Capability Assessment.
• The film portrays a group of traditionally underrepresented characters in Newcastle struggling in poverty to gain benefits and support.
• Conveys a clear left-wing political message and criticises specific government policies
• Much of Ken Loach’s work has addressed similar issues (Cathy Come Home) and he is a social campaigner, known for his socialist political views. This is important in terms of film production and maintaining audiences as it suggests an intended audience of educated, media literate and socially aware.
• Economic factors including funding are extremely significant to this independent British co-production. The funding bodies are the BFI (through National Lottery Funding) and the BBC. This makes the film different from many mainstream films.
• I, Daniel Blake is a low budget social realist film, funded by the BFI and BBC. It was filmed largely on location (hospital, job centre etc.), features lesser known actors and does not rely on special effects
• The I, Daniel Blake website includes links to social media and the trailer offers a hashtag (#idanielblake) suggesting links with Twitter, but it is more likely to be consumed in more traditional ways. As older audience be more likely to see the trailer at the cinema and less likely to search for it on the internet compared to a younger audience