Unable to join us in person, Ken Loach has sent Chagford Film Festival a very personal message.

Landlord TJ Ballantyne knows his pub is the one remaining place in a struggling former mining town where people can get together socially. But it’s a struggle to keep it going as customers are facing hard times financially, and The Old Oak is the last pub standing. Then when TJ and others befriend a group of Syrian refugees who have been bussed into the area, tensions flare with some of the pub’s regulars who feel they’re being displaced by foreigners. How can a community stay strong in the face of all these challenges? Loach’s unique capacity to evoke sympathy for all sides shines through this touching and ultimately uplifting film