Ken Loach to get BAFTA Scotland honour

Ken Loach, one of Britain's most celebrated filmmakers, is to get an outstanding achievement award at Scotland's film and TV Oscars for the movies his company has made north of the border.

Paul Laverty and Ken Loach will be honoured at next month's BAFTA Scotland ceremony.

The award-winning director and two of his main collaborators - screenwriter Paul Laverty and producer Rebecca O’Brien - will be honoured at the BAFTA Scotland gala ceremony in Glasgow next month.

Their glittering track record of Scottish films includes Sweet Sixteen, Carla’s Song, My Name Is Joe, The Angels’ Share and Ae Fond Kiss.

Loach has been credited with discovering a host of Scottish acting talent, including Martin Compston and Paul Brannigan, who had no previous experience when they were cast in Sweet Sixteen and The Angels’ Share respectively.

He has also worked with leading actors like Robert Carlyle, Peter Mullan, Cilian Murphy and Ricky Tomlinson.

Loach, Laverty and O’Brien, whose company Sixteen Films will be honoured with an outstanding contribution award, are all expected to attend the gala ceremony in Glasgow on 6 November, which will see the likes of Brian Cox, Kate Dickie, Ashley Jensen and Peter Capaldi compete for major prizes.

Crime drama Shetland and American time-travel series Outlander, which is filmed across Scotland, will each be competing for several honours, including best TV drama.

BAFTA Scotland will also honour hair and make-up artist Christine Cant for a glittering career that has seen her work on the likes of I’m Alan Partridge, Absolutely Fabulous, Father Ted, Poirot, Jeeves and Wooster and The Royle Family.

Laverty, who joined forces with Loach most recent on I, Daniel Blake, which won the prestigious Palme d’Or award at the 2016 Cannes Film Festival, said: “This is a total treat and a wonderful recognition of collaboration – the essence of film-making. We all swim or sink together.

“And it’s a double treat to think of the big Scottish family over the years.”

Cant said: “I was thrilled to hear I was to receive the outstanding contribution to craft award at this year’s British Academy Scotland Awards. The awards are always very special to me and to be amongst so many talented people once again is a true honour.

“I’m really looking forward to what is undoubtedly going to be a fantastic evening back home in Glasgow.”

Jude MacLaverty, director of BAFTA Scotland, said: “We have a tremendous amount of talent in Scotland, so we feel extremely privileged to be presenting Christine Cant and Sixteen Films with our outstanding contribution awards.

“Both have excelled in their chosen fields and they’re leading the way for future generations of our television, film and broadcasting industries in Scotland.”