Venice, Italy: The Venice Film Festival has been humming with a fascinating story about Caleb Landry Jones, the Australian actor known for his diverse roles. In a curious twist, Jones carried out all his press preparations for Luc Besson’s thriller “Dogman” in a Scottish accessory. This precise desire became part of his immersion into his character for the UK drama “Harvest,” currently filming in Scotland. Directed by Athina Rachel Tsangari, “Harvest” is the Greek director’s first English-language movie, based on the novel by Jim Crace, and signals a brand new chapter for Sixteen Films, one of the UK’s most famous indie production agencies.
Founded in 2002 with the aid of Ken Loach and producer Rebecca O’Brien, sixteen films have been instrumental in producing every film via the distinguished director during the last two decades. Their portfolio includes award-prevailing movies like “The Wind That Shakes the Barley,” “Looking for Eric,” “I, Daniel Blake,” and the recent “The Old Oak.” those films have garnered several accolades, such as Palme d’Or. However, with Loach pronouncing “The Antique Oak”as his last film, Sixteen Films is stepping into a new phase, starting with “Harvest.”
O’Brien outlines two directions for Sixteen Films post-Loach. One is to collaborate with auteur European directors on English-language films, exemplified with the aid of Tsangari’s involvement in “Harvest.” additionally, O’Brien is co-generating Sally Potter’s next film, “Alma,” a family ensemble piece likened to a sequel to ‘The Party.’ the other path is to keep making socially conscious films, an indicator of the corporation. This includes “On Falling,” a movie approximately a Portuguese warehouse worker struggling with the confines of her task and home life, shot in Glasgow and directed by debutante Laura Carreira.
Different promising initiatives consist of “Londoner” by using United Kingdom-based Nigerian director Babatunde Apalowo and Barnaby Blackburn’s “Help Your Self,” which explores British politeness through the lens of a family hosting Ukrainian refugees. In an extensive shift, Sixteen films is exploring new partnerships and distribution strategies, moving away from their long-standing collaboration with Paris-based Why Not Prods. and Wild Bunch/Goodfellas.
No matter these changes, the coronary heart of sixteen films remains in its Soho workplace, a hub of creativity and making plans. The team and economic controller Habib Rahman assistant producer Naomi Smith and others keep to paintings amidst souvenirs and posters from Loach’s iconic films. Plans are also underway to introduce Loach’s widespread archive to new audiences, given the issue of accessing a number of his best films
Reflecting on the pandemic’s onset in 2020, the sixteen films group noticed it as a possibility to strategize their future direction. With movies like “Harvest” and “On Falling” already underway and several greater in improvement, the company is poised to continue Loach’s cinematic legacy, blending the old with the new.