13/07/2012 - The English filmmaker is to follow in the footsteps of Clint Eastwood, Milos Forman, and Gérard Depardieu by winning the award created by Thierry Frémaux.

The Prix Lumière aims to celebrate a filmmaker or leading figure in film in Lyon, in the same place where Louis and Auguste Lumière invented the cinématographe and shot their first film, Employees Leaving the Lumière Factory in 1895. The award was created by Thierry Frémaux (director general at the Lumière Institute and the famous general delegate of the Cannes Film Festival), and this year will go to English filmmaker Ken Loach during the 4th edition of the Grand Lyon Film Festival to be held between October 15 and 21 later this year. Ken Loach is the fourth person to receive the award after Clint Eastwood, Milos Forman, and Gérard Depardieu.

According to Bertrand Tavernier, president of the Lumière Institute and the festival's organiser, choosing Ken Loach for the award "is first of all a way of celebrating a magnificent body of work replete with successes. But it's a also the expression of our gratitude towards a man who has stayed loyal to his ideals, even when others flaunted their denial like jacket decorations, towards a man opposed to cynicism and liberalism, who supports those who have been outcast or forgotten. A heir to Orwell, Ken Loach, seething with rage, has taken stock of politicians' mistakes and cowardice on all fronts. His films provide damming evidence of the failings of a capitalist society. But they are also proof that one can always dream of a better society based on fraternity and collective beliefs."

On the occasion of the Grand Lyon Film Festival, which revisits cinema's history thanks to new restored film copies, Ken Loach will screen several of his films, take part in discussions with the audience, and speak about the films he loves.

The Angels' Share [+see also:
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trailer
interview: Ken Loach
film profile], his latest film to date, a very funny social comedy that was awarded the Jury Prize in Cannes, has already attracted 304,000 cinema-goers in France in only two weeks since its release (distribution: Le Pacte on 230 copies).

(Translated from French)