This Q&A session with director Ken Loach and lead actor Mark Womack was chaired by writer and broadcaster David Goldblatt, and took place at Watershed on Friday 18th March 2011 following a screening of Loach’s explosive political thriller, Route Irish. In this fascinating Q&A, Ken Loach and Mark Womack answered questions about the film, the Iraq war, and WikiLeaks. Ken also discussed his reasons for making the film, the audition process, and his unique directorial methods.

Route Irish was released in 2011 to critical acclaim, and has been hailed as one of Loach’s darkest films. Set in Liverpool and Baghdad, the film follows Fergus (Mark Womack), an ex-SAS officer who made his fortune as a private security contractor in post-war Iraq, as he investigates the death of his friend. 

Ken Loach is a multi-award winning film and television director, who is famous for his naturalistic directorial style and contribution to British social realism cinema. His 1969 film Kes was ranked by the BFI as the seventh greatest British film of the 20th century, and his 2006 film, The Wind That Shakes the Barley, won the prestigious Palme d'Or at the 2006 Cannes Film Festival.

Mark Womack is a British television actor who played Fergus in Route Irish. He has featured in a number of British television programmes, including the BBCs Merseybeat, and ITV’s Liverpool 1.

Preview courtesy of Artificial Eye.

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Posted on Fri 11 March 2011.

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