Jim Loach

James Loach (born 6 June 1969) is a British film director.

Early life Jim Loach was born in London to Ken Loach and Lesley Ashton in June 1969, one of five children. He studied philosophy at University College London.

Career Loach intended to pursue a career in journalism. He joined the BBC where he worked as a researcher for Sue Lawley and Anne Robinson. He turned to directing in 1996 while working on the Granada TV current affairs programme World in Action. He went on to direct several episodes of Coronation Street in 2000, and subsequently directed episodes of Bad Girls, Waterloo Road, Shameless and Hotel Babylon.

His first feature film Oranges and Sunshine was released on 1 April 2011. The film starred Emily Watson as Margaret Humphreys, the social worker who exposed the scandal of child migration. It co-starred Hugo Weaving and David Wenham.

In 2012, Loach directed Life of Crime, a thriller written by Declan Croghan. It centred on a young police officer's obsession with the killer of a young girl. Hayley Atwell played the lead part, supported by Richard Coyle and Con O'Neill. It transmitted on ITV to positive reviews in May 2013.

In June 2015, Loach started production on his second film, Measure of a Man. Based on the coming-of-age novel One Fat Summer by Robert Lipsyte, the screenplay was written by David Scearce. The cast included Donald Sutherland, Judy Greer, Luke Wilson and Blake Cooper. The film was released nationwide in the United States on 11 May 2018 and sharply divided critics.

Michael O'Sullivan from The Washington Post gave the film a 3.5 out of 4 stars and said: "Measure of a Man is a funny, wise movie about bullying that speaks to kids and grown-ups alike". Richard Roeper at The Chicago Sun-Times gave it a 3.5 out of 4 stars and said: "It's a sweet and knowing and lovely and funny story, but occasionally the spell of warm nostalgia is broken by painful moments of family heartbreak and cruel bullying". By contrast, Mick LaSalle at the San Francisco Chronicle gave a critical review, describing it as a film of "gestures and feints". The film received its European premiere at the Rome Film Festival in October 2018.

In 2019, Loach directed Save Me Too, the sequel to Save Me, written by and starring Lennie James. The cast also featured Stephen Graham, Suranne Jones, Lesley Manville, Jason Flemyng, Kerry Godliman and Susan Lynch.

The series transmitted to very positive reviews in April 2020 in the UK on Sky Atlantic, and later on Peacock (streaming service), a division of NBCUniversal, in the United States, and Loach went on to win a BAFTA for Best Drama Series in 2021.

Work on a second as-yet-untitled film collaboration with Rona Munro is reportedly under way.

In 2024, Loach directed Criminal Record starring Peter Capaldi and Cush Jumbo for Apple TV+ which attracted very positive notices, and was commissioned for a second season. He followed this quickly with Lockerbie: A Search for Truth starring Colin Firth as Jim Swire, who has dedicated his life to uncovering the truth of the bombing of Pan Am 103 above Lockerbie, Scotland in 1988.

Filmography

+ Feature films Year Title Distributor 2018 Measure of a Man Lionsgate 2011 Oranges and Sunshine Icon Film Distribution

+ Television Year Title Broadcaster 2026 Unchosen Netflix 2025 Lockerbie: A Search for Truth Sky Atlantic 2024 Criminal Record Apple TV+ 2021 The Tower Independent Television/ITV/Britbox 2020 Save Me Too Sky Atlantic/NBC Universal 2019 Deep Water Independent Television/ITV 2019 Tin Star Sky Atlantic/Amazon 2017 Victoria Independent Television/ITV/PBS Masterpiece 2017 Endeavour Independent Television/ITV 2013 Life of Crime Independent Television/ITV 2012 DCI Banks Independent Television/ITV 2012 The Hidden Side of Sport BBC 2009 Hotel Babylon BBC 2008 Shameless Channel Four 2008 HolbyBlue BBC 2006 Waterloo Road BBC 2005 Bad Girls ITV 2004 Footballers Wives ITV 2003 Sweet Medicine ITV 2000 Coronation Street ITV