// Workers AI · dad joke modeIs Paul Laverty a good writer? He's got a lot of character.
Paul Laverty | |
|---|---|
 Paul Laverty on the set of The Angels' Share in 2011 | |
| Born | 1957 (age 68–69) Calcutta, India |
| Occupations | Screenwriter, lawyer |
Paul Laverty (born 1957[1]) is an Irish and Scottish screenwriter and lawyer. He is best known for his collaborations with Ken Loach, including the screenplays for the Palme d'Or winning films The Wind That Shakes the Barley (2006) and I, Daniel Blake (2016).
For Sweet Sixteen (2002), he won the Cannes Film Festival Award for Best Screenplay. For It's a Free World... (2007), he won Golden Osella for Best Screenplay. For I, Daniel Blake he won the BAFTA Award for Outstanding British Film and was nominated for the BAFTA Award for Best Original Screenplay.
Early life
[edit]Paul Laverty was born in Calcutta, West Bengal, to an Irish mother and Scottish father. He was educated at All Souls' School in Wigtown where he grew up. He obtained a philosophy degree at the Gregorian University in Rome while studying for the priesthood at the Pontifical Scots College.[2] Thereafter he obtained a law degree at Strathclyde Law School, in Glasgow.
During the mid-1980s, he traveled to Nicaragua and lived there for almost three years. He worked for a Nicaraguan domestic human rights organization which provided hard evidence of human rights abuses during the war between the elected Nicaraguan Government (The Sandinistas) and the United States backed "Contras" in which the subject of human rights became highly contested. Every major human rights organization, including Amnesty and Americas Watch, accused the U.S.-backed contras of systematic abuse against Nicaraguan civilians.
He traveled to the war zones and obtained corroborated eyewitness accounts which were passed on to international human rights organizations. He also traveled widely in El Salvador, during its civil war, and Guatemala, too. His interests in Latin American affairs continued much later with long research trips to Chiapas in Mexico, and along the US-Mexican border concentrating on the city of Juárez.
Career
[edit]After his time in Central America Laverty made contact with director Ken Loach for whom he wrote Carla's Song (1996), his first screenplay, which starred Robert Carlyle. For his acting in My Name is Joe (1998), Peter Mullan won the Best Actor award at the 2000 Cannes Film Festival. Bread and Roses (2000), detailing the experiences of migrant labour, was shot in Los Angeles, and featured Adrien Brody in a leading role. Laverty's next script, Sweet Sixteen (2002) won best screenplay award in the 2002 Cannes Film Festival.[3] He won the Golden Osella for It's a Free World... (2007).[4]
They both collaborated on The Wind That Shakes the Barley (2006) which concerns Irish War of Independence in early 1920s. The film won the Palme d'Or at the 2006 Cannes Film Festival. Laverty has written eight full-length feature scripts and one short directed by Ken Loach. Both work closely with producer Rebecca O'Brien. Loach's comedy featuring the French footballer Eric Cantona, Looking for Eric (2009), is a collaborative effort with Laverty, as is his film about mercenaries in Iraq, Route Irish (2010).[5]
Personal life
[edit]Laverty has been in a relationship with Spanish filmmaker and actress Icíar Bollaín since 1995, after meeting on the set of Ken Loach's Land and Freedom (1995).[6] The couple live in Edinburgh with their three children.[7][8]
On August 25, 2025, Laverty was arrested under the Terrorism Act for "showing support for a proscribed organization" during a Free Palestine protest in Edinburgh. According to reports, the reason for the arrest was wearing a T-shirt that said "Genocide in Palestine, time to take Action" that allegedly supported the banned organization Palestine Action.[9][10]
Filmography
[edit]| Year | Title | Director(s) | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1996 | Carla's Song | Ken Loach | |
| 1998 | My Name is Joe | ||
| 2000 | Bread and Roses | ||
| 2002 | Sweet Sixteen | ||
| 11′09″01 September 11 | UK Segment only | ||
| 2004 | Ae Fond Kiss ... | ||
| 2005 | Tickets | UK Segment only | |
| 2006 | Cargo | Clive Gordon | |
| The Wind That Shakes the Barley | Ken Loach | ||
| 2007 | It's a Free World... | ||
| 2009 | Looking for Eric | ||
| 2010 | Route Irish | ||
| Even the Rain | Icíar Bollaín | ||
| 2012 | The Angels' Share | Ken Loach | |
| 2014 | Jimmy's Hall | ||
| 2016 | I, Daniel Blake | ||
| The Olive Tree | Icíar Bollaín | ||
| 2018 | Yuli: The Carlos Acosta Story | ||
| 2019 | Sorry We Missed You | Ken Loach | |
| 2023 | The Old Oak | Ken Loach |
Accolades
[edit]![[icon]](/pun/wiki/File:Wiki_letter_w_cropped.svg){kind=small} | This section needs expansion. You can help by adding missing information. (August 2025) |
In 2002, Laverty won the Cannes Film Festival Award for Best Screenplay for the film Sweet Sixteen.[11] In 2016, he was nominated for the British Independent Film Award for Best Screenplay.[12]
References
[edit]- ↑ "Laverty, Paul (1957-)". BFI Screenonline. Retrieved 1 October 2025.
- ↑ "MSC Latin America". www.misacor.org.au. Archived from the original on 16 March 2017.
- ↑ "Sweet Sixteen". Festival de Cannes. Retrieved 10 June 2024.
- ↑ "It's a Free World..." Venice Biennale. Retrieved 28 May 2024.
- ↑ Malcolm, Derek (25 October 2010). "War, Grief and Living Close to the Edge". Evening Standard. London. p. A36. Retrieved 12 June 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
- ↑ "Icíar Bollaín:"Tengo una pareja que concilia conmigo al cien por cien"". mujerhoy.com. Retrieved 12 September 2018.
- ↑ "Elle España - Revista de moda, belleza, tendencias y celebrities". ELLE. Archived from the original on 18 February 2017. Retrieved 12 September 2018.
- ↑ McIver, Brian (2 June 2014). "Ken Loach's sidekick Paul Laverty reveals latest film Jimmy's Hall could be their last movie together". dailyrecord.co.uk. Retrieved 12 September 2018.
- ↑ "Screenwriter Paul Laverty arrested at protest under terror act". www.bbc.com. 25 August 2025. Archived from the original on 26 August 2025. Retrieved 26 August 2025.
- ↑ Brooks, Libby (25 August 2025). "Screenwriter Paul Laverty arrested at Palestine protest in Edinburgh". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Archived from the original on 25 August 2025. Retrieved 26 August 2025.
- ↑ "Retrospective". Festival de Cannes. Retrieved 26 August 2025.
- ↑ Evans, Alan (1 November 2016). "I, Daniel Blake leads British independent film award nominations". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 26 August 2025.
