5. Ken Loach
Still going strong at the age of 77, Ken Loach is a proponent of the social realism school of film making. He likes to make his films as naturalistic as possible and they frequently depict the lives of the working class and downtrodden people. Loach came to prominence with the shocking and powerful film for the BBC - Cathy Come Home. A devastating portrait of a young family's descent into homelessness, Cathy Come Home touched viewers' nerves and their hearts. It highlighted a social issue that many people were unaware of and made a major social impact. Moving away from working for the Beeb, Loach directed, in 1969, one of his most iconic films - Kes, a drama about a troubled working class boy and the relationship he develops with a bird. The film ends in considerable misery but it is such a stellar kitchen sink drama, it has been voted the 7th best British film of all time by the BFI Loach, in his career, has been bold to tread in controversial subject matter such as the Northern Irish Troubles (Hidden Agenda), the problems in Nicaragua (Carla's Song), the Spanish Civil War (Land and Freedom) and a woman losing her children to social services (Ladybird, Ladybird). My favourite Loach film is Family Life - a cinema verité approach to chronicling a young woman's descent into schizophrenia - driven partially mad by her stuffy, conservative working class parents and their intransigent views. Loach is very stuck on making his characters' interactions look as natural as possible - almost as if they are not scripted. The dialogue in his films has considerable room for improvisation. He doesn't like method actors - preferring to hire non actors with experience in the subject matter of what he is filming. He is infamous among his actors for springing surprise scenes without warning, so he can film their reaction for real. Vehemently opposed to film censorship, Loach believes in the freedom of directors to portray on screen whatever they want to. Loach's films are very distinctive and his realism will either resonate with you or turn you off. Personally, I don't agree with a lot of his social and political beliefs but I admire his style of making films and the courage he has in his convictions.