The Old Oak

In competition, Cannes 2023

Directed by: Ken LOACH

Country: United Kingdom

Year of production: 2023

Length: 113 minutes

Genre: drama

The Old Oak is a special place. Not only is it the last pub standing, it is the only remaining public space where people can meet in a once thriving mining community that has now fallen on hard

times after 30 years of decline. TJ Ballantyne (Dave Turner), the landlord, hangs on to The Old Oak by his fingertips, and his hold is endangered even more when the pub becomes contested territory after the arrival of Syrian refugees who are placed in the village. An unlikely friendship develops when TJ encounters a young Syrian with a camera, Yara (Ebla Mari). Can they find a way for the two communities to understand each other? And so it unfolds, a deeply moving drama about loss, fear and the difficulty of finding hope.