Film Industry: I, Daniel Blake

Our second Film Industry CSP is Ken Loach's low-budget independent social realist film I, Daniel Blake.

Remember: for film, we only need to study the industries key concept - so this means the companies behind the film, the budget, the marketing and promotion and finally the box office success.

Hollywood v Independent cinema

Independent films are very different to Hollywood blockbusters like Black Widow. The style of ‘indie’ films is very different to Hollywood blockbusters, as the directors and producers have more creative input – it’s being made in their vision, not in the vision of studio bosses.

Independent films have much smaller budgets, and are often supported financially by public service broadcasters, film institutions and charity funding. They are also distributed by smaller companies.

I, Daniel Blake notes

I, Daniel Blake is an award-winning independent British Drama film. The main character, Daniel Blake, 59, who has worked as a joiner most of his life in the North East of England needs help from the State for the first time ever following an illness.

He crosses paths with a single mother Katie and her two young children, Daisy and Dylan. Katie’s only chance to escape a one roomed homeless hostel in London is to accept a flat some 300 miles away.

Daniel  stands up and fights for his dignity, leading a one-man crusade for compassion that will transform the lives of a struggling single mother (Katie) and her two children.   It is a drama that has a strong political message about Britain in an age of government austerity.

Key details:

• I, Daniel Blake was released in 2016 and was directed by Ken Loach. The film was rated by the BBFC as a 15.
• A UK/French co-production, the film is a classed as a drama due to the nature of the narrative and themes within the film.
• The cast is made up of lesser known actors, including Dave Johns, Hayley Squires and Sharon Percy.
• The film is classed as an independent film, due to the fact that it is a low budget film with a relatively unknown cast.

Director power: Ken Loach

Ken Loach has been a director for over 50 years. He’s never had Hollywood success, mainly because he’s never wanted it. Loach’s style is social realism – telling stories that represent the lives of ordinary working-class people and the social issues they face, for example unemployment, poverty and addiction. His films also have political themes. Rather than create films for entertainment or money, his goal is to expose and educate people to the issues that many people in society face.

Ken Loach's 2019 film Sorry We Missed You highlighted the difficulty of working class people working on zero hour contracts (you can watch the trailer here). Here he talks to Sky News about the film and how it compares to Marvel superhero blockbusters like Black Widow:

Marketing and promotion

Along with traditional trailer and print adverts, the film makers eOne also used disruptive marketing such as:

• Organise free (or ‘pay what you can’) screenings and talks in community centres across the UK to build local enthusiasm for the film’s message.
• Film was premiered not in London, but Newcastle (where the film is set) to gain local support. 
• Labour Leader Jeremy Corbyn attended the London premiere and people that had been denied benefit payments were asked to placard the event.
• ‘I, Daniel Blake’ was projected onto the Houses of Parliament ('guerrilla marketing') and in various cities
• Loach appeared on BBC Question Time to talk on issue giving the film extra credibility

A conventional trailer was also produced for the film:

Additional promotion:

• A partnership was set up with Trinity Mirror (Daily Mirror owners) to run a marketing campaign based on the film. The Daily Mirror traditionally supports the Labour Party and left-wing causes so therefore agreed with the main message of the film.
• The film also paired up with NomadiX Media's iProjector to create an outdoor campaign using quotes from the film.
• Ken Loach and the writer did interviews with newspapers and magazines to promote the key messages of the film (see clip from Economist below).
• Finally, a video was released using members of the public and politicians that supported the film’s message. This was highlighted with the hashtag #WeAreAllDanielBlake

Secret Cinema Youth screening

Secret Cinema, as part of their charitable Secret Youth campaign, organised a screening of the film in both London’s East End and Newcastle. The event was aimed at first-time voters, and the event happened just before the 2017 general election

The screening was accompanied by talks from Ken Loach and performances from artists that either supported or had a connection with the film’s themes. They also organised food bank donation stalls at the screening and encouraged people to contribute

Budget, box office and critical success

It is very difficult to establish the exact production costs of ‘I, Daniel Blake’ although 16 Films Producer, Rebecca O’Brien, said it was a ‘modest amount’, even for a Ken Loach film. We know some of the funding it received (e.g. £300k from the BFI) and can estimate it to be around £2 million. Compare that to the $200 million that it cost to make our other CSP, Black Widow.

I, Daniel Blake was exhibited in 24 countries and performed well in Europe and other smaller countries. The film grossed £11 million and received a wide range of positive critic reviews.

‘I, Daniel Blake’ Is Ken Loach’s most successful UK release ever and continued to sell well around Europe. Like all Ken Loach films, it did particularly well in France. As well as Box Office success, it was also a critical success and award winner (including the renowned Palme D’or from the Cannes Film Festival).

Regulation: BBFC rating

‘I, Daniel Blake’ was awarded a 15 certificate by the British Board of Film Classifications (BBFC).  This was despite the following scenes being included:

• Bad language (uttered by the main characters out of anger and frustration or for emphasis. Was justified by context and not impactful.)
• Sexual scenes (There are some verbal sexual references voiced in the film, particularly in a scene where a man pays a surprise visit to a woman who is working as a prostitute secretly, to try to dissuade her from prostituting herself.)
• Frightening and Intense scenes (There are two notable scenes of emotional intensity. They include 'the food bank' scene and the ending 'funeral' scene.)

I, Daniel Blake: blog tasks

1) What is independent cinema and how is it different to Hollywood blockbusters?

2) What is I, Daniel Blake about?

3) Who directed I, Daniel Blake and why is this important?

4) How was I, Daniel Blake promoted to an audience? List at least three different methods used by the film's marketing campaign and how they targeted their audience.

5) What unusual or creative marketing methods were used to get audiences talking about the film?

6) What was the estimated production budget for I, Daniel Blake and how much did it make at the box office?

7) How can independent films like I, Daniel Blake compete with Hollywood blockbusters like Black Widow?

8) In your opinion, was I, Daniel Blake a success?


Grade 8/9 extension tasks

Read this Media Magazine article on the disruptive marketing campaign used to publicise I, Daniel Blake. Media Magazine is an excellent publication aimed at A Level Media students and it's a great resource for GCSE students aiming for the top grades.

I, Daniel Blake is an A Level Media text for another exam board. Watch Media teacher Mrs Fisher's YouTube lesson on I, Daniel Blake and make notes on the key points she makes.

Read this Hollywood Reporter interview with executive Alex Hamilton on film marketing - including the I, Daniel Blake grassroots marketing campaign. Why was it successful?

Complete for homework if you don't finish it during the lessons - due date on Google Classroom.