Loach: I make films for audience

Ken Loach has said that while movie awards are the "icing on the cake" he really makes his films for his audience.

The highly-respected British filmmaker picked up the Jury Prize at Cannes this year for his film The Angel's Share, a comedy-drama about a young unemployed couple trying to make money from a victimless crime.

He said of winning such prizes: "It's the icing on the cake, really. You do the film for the audience, but it helps enormously in giving it a presence, because films on this scale don't have huge advertising budgets. We'd otherwise have to publicise the film through word of mouth or news reports, but not necessarily through advertising.

"So it's not something we'd discount at all. It's very important and satisfying that somebody else thinks it's not too bad as well, you know?"

Loach worked with writer Paul Laverty on the film, who he has collaborated with before on Looking For Eric, and he said working with familiar people on his films was helpful.

"Film-making is a series of partnerships and you have to develop those," he explained

"You have to find people whose opinions you share, whose judgment you trust in a way that all fits together. And of course people become friends.

"But Paul's a very special writer, we've worked together now for 16 or 17 years, a long time. He's done some amazing work."

:: The Angel's Share is available on DVD now.