Legendary director Ken Loach has confirmed his retirement, admitting: "I've reached the end of the line."
Legendary director Ken Loach has confirmed his retirement
The 87-year-old filmmaker previously admitted 'The Old Oak' could be his last film, before rowing back on the comments, but he has now insisted it will be a "step too far" to helm another motion picture.
He told Variety: "I think, health-wise, the idea of getting around the course again is probably a step too far.
"You only stop when you absolutely have to, and I’ve reached the end of the line."
Despite this, Loach is still looking to the future, and insisted he will always have a deep connection to movies even if he isn't making them anymore.
He said: "I try just to think of the future and not be nostalgic.
"Not making films doesn’t mean that the connection to films and students and people that write about films ends by any means.
"And I’ve been lucky, there are lots of possibilities of doing things that are similar to doing work, but not at the same level of concentration and travel."
Loach admitted one subject he wanted to make a movie about is Palestine.
The 'Kes' director - who voiced his support for a ceasefire in Gaza at the recent BAFTA Film Awards - added: "That [Palestine] was a subject that I would have liked to have worked on, but I didn’t know quite how to tackle it.
"It would have had to be a documentary, but it was a big project and certainly beyond me for the last decade."
In February 2023, Loach admitted he didn't expect to make another motion picture, because his short-term memory and eyesight have declined.
He told The Hollywood Reporter at the time: "Films take a couple of years and I'll be nearly 90. And your facilities do decline. Your short-term memory goes and my eyesight is pretty rubbish now, so it's quite tricky."
He quipped: "I'm just not sure I can get around the court again. It's like an old nag at the Grand National. You think, good God, I'll be falling at the first fence!"
But a month later in March 2023, he was asked whether 'The Old Oak' would be his final film, and he replied: "One day at a time.
"If you get up in the morning, and you're not in the obituary column; one day at a time."
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