I, Daniel Blake

Question 1

Production Context

Answer 1

Director: Ken Loach
Producer: Rebecca O’Brien
Writer: Paul Laverty
Production/Funding: Sixteen Films, BFI, Why Not Productions, Wild Bunch, BBC Films, Les Films du Fleuve
Distributors: eOne Films (UK), Le Pacte (France)
Release Date: 13 May 2016 (Cannes), 21 October 2016 (UK)

Question 2

Regulation

Answer 2

BBFC rates films, local councils can overrule.
BBFC and BFI contribute to industry regulation.
BFI promotes and preserves UK filmmaking.

Question 3

Aesthetics

Answer 3

Filmed on location for verisimilitude.
Dark humor and lesser-known actors.

Question 4

Distribution

Answer 4

Focus on art and reflection.
Highlighting guerrilla marketing campaigns.

Question 5

Theoretical Approaches - Power & Media Industries (Curran & Seaton)

Answer 5

Trailer challenges media control.
Critical of dominant ideologies.

Question 6

Livingstone and Lunt’s Regulation Theory

Answer 6

Struggle in UK regulation between citizen interests and consumer needs.
Global media corporations challenge traditional regulation.
Balance between protection and market competition.

Question 7

Hesmondhalgh’s Cultural Industries Theory

Answer 7

Cultural companies minimize risk through integration.
Largest conglomerates operate across various industries.
Internet’s radical potential restrained by profit-oriented industries.

Question 8

Social & Political Context

Answer 8

Addresses contemporary social issues.
Impact of a left-wing political message on production and reception.

Question 9

Audience Engagement

Answer 9

Significance of lacking recognizable stars.
Intended audience profile: educated, media-literate, socially aware.
Effects of a left-wing political message on audience reception.

Question 10

Marketing Strategies

Answer 10

Politically proactive marketing approach.
#WeAreAllDanielBlake campaign and guerrilla marketing.
UK premiere in Newcastle to establish cultural ownership.