"I, Daniel Blake" case study

Film marketing CASE STUDY 1

Analyse the visual codes, audio codes and moving image codes in the  trailer and poster, as well as your own research, for the following information: 

• Production information : ( director/writer/stars/funding/budget/distribution )
• Text :  themes, ideologies and social messages of film, genre, setting, representations, main target audience, secondary audiences, desired response from audience. 
• Reception : awards, reviews, critical response, political effects, etc.

• director: Ken Loach
• writer: Paul Laverty
• stars: Hayley Squires, Dave Johns, Sharon Percy, Kate Rutter. 
• funding: Sixteen Films wouldn’t have received a grant of £172,828 from Creative Europe, a quango funded by Brussels. That grant was divided between I, Daniel Blake and The Flickering Flame.
• budget: low
• distribution: to France, Belgium and United Kingdom. 

The film was about Daniel Blake, a 59-year-old widower from Newcastle who has had a heart attack. Though his cardiologist has not allowed him to return to work, Daniel is deemed fit to do so after a work capability assessment and denied employment and support allowance. He is frustrated to learn that his doctor was not contacted about the decision, and applies for an appeal, a process he finds difficult because he must complete forms online and is not computer literate. Daniel befriends single mother Katie after she is sanctioned for arriving late for a Jobcentre appointment. Katie and her children have just moved to Newcastle from a London homeless shelter, as there is no affordable accommodation in London. Daniel helps the family by repairing objects, teaching them how to heat rooms without electricity, and crafting wooden toys for the children. 

The social message of the film i think is trying to raise awareness that the government doesn't help you if you really need it, as they are only looking at it from a moneys point of view. This could make people see the impact this has on a lower-class person's eyes and maybe want to change something so that they can receive the help they need. This encourages people to stand up for their rights and never give up even if it feels as if there is no hope.