The 54th BFI London Film Festival in association with Skillset, the Sector Skills Council for Creative Media, announced today that Ken Loach will deliver this year’s industry keynote address on Thursday 14 October.

Sandra Hebron, Festival Artistic Director commented: “We are delighted to be working alongside Skillset on this second address and especially thrilled that Ken Loach has accepted our invitation to deliver it. Ken has a very unique voice and place in British film culture, and since making a name for himself with Cathy Come Home in the mid 1960s, has continued to make films which are as engaging as they are thought provoking. From his early background in television he has tirelessly ploughed his own furrow, and his remarkable body of work includes such acclaimed titles as Days of Hope, Riff-Raff, My Name is Joe, The Wind that Shakes the Barley and Looking For Eric. With his latest film ROUTE IRISH part of this year’s Festival programme, we cannot think of a more appropriate keynote speaker.”

Skillset’s Director of Film Neil Peplow added: “I am delighted that we are able to once again partner on the BFI London Film Festival and Skillset keynote address, as well as a number of the festival’s other events and training programmes. As one of the UK’s most successful directors ever, I am sure that Ken Loach’s address will be thought-provoking, insightful and one of the festival’s must-attend events.”

Alongside the Mayor of London, Film London and the London Development Agency, Skillset is a key partner of the LFF industry programme, supporting a number of events and training programmes as part of its UK film skills strategy A Bigger Future 2, which aims to improve the competitive advantage of the UK film industry by developing the world class skills of the workforce.