Afternoon Cinema: The Old Oak

The last film from visionary director Ken Loach, The Old Oak tells the story of the last remaining pub in a village in Northeast England, the only remaining public space where people can meet in a once thriving mining community that has now fallen on hard times after 30 years of decline. 

TJ Ballantyne [Dave Turner], the landlord, hangs on to The Old Oak by his fingertips, and his predicament is endangered even more when the pub becomes contested territory after the arrival of Syrian refugees who are placed in the village without any notice. In an unlikely friendship TJ meets curious young Syrian, Yara [Ebla Mari] with her camera. Can they find a way for the two communities to understand each other? So unfolds a deeply moving drama about their fragilities and hopes.