Versus: The Life and Films of Ken Loach

Versus: The Life and Films of Ken Loach is a documentary about the British filmmaker Ken Loach, made while he was preparing to release I, Daniel Blake. Directed by Louise Osmond, it looks back over his career through interviews with colleagues, friends and family, including the producer Tony Garnett, the writer Nell Dunn, the actor Tony Selby, the screenwriter Paul Laverty and the actor David Bradley. Loach himself appears on camera. The film traces a path that began in the second half of the 1960s with documentary-style television dramas at the BBC, moved through politically committed work during the Thatcher years, when broadcasters were often wary of his material, and reached a turning point in 1990 with a Cannes jury prize that opened a long run of historical and social dramas. Osmond balances this account of a director admired and disliked in equal measure with an account of the making of his latest feature.

The documentary runs 93 minutes and was released in June 2016, produced by Rebecca O'Brien for BBC Film, the BFI, Sixteen Films and Dogwoof. It is a British production, and its credited cast numbers 22, most of them appearing as themselves.

Audience response has been modest: on TMDB it holds a 6.6 rating from a small number of votes, suggesting a limited viewership beyond those already interested in Loach's work.