Kes: Forgotten 35mm film confirmed as 1969 original

A forgotten film canister discovered in a South Yorkshire loft has been found to contain an original 35mm copy of Ken Loach's 1969 film Kes.

It is thought to be one of only two original copies still in existence, the other held by British Film Institute.

Rob Younger, who will screen the movie at his Barnsley Parkway Cinema next month, said the film was in "amazingly good condition for its age".

Dai Bradley, who starred in the film, described the discovery as "wonderful".

Kes tells the story of Billy Casper, a working class schoolboy who finds meaning in life when he takes a fledgling kestrel from its nest.

Based on Barnsley author Barry Hines' novel A Kestrel for a Knave, the film won two Bafta awards and was nominated for a further three.

Mr Younger said: "To find something that's over 50 years old and the print hasn't run in most of that time, it's fantastic.

"And the fact it's a Barnsley-based film, it's Kes, everyone in Barnsley loves Kes."

Contained on seven separate reels of film the recently discovered version is thought to have been put into storage after being was shown on the big screen in 1970.

The reels had sat undiscovered for decades before being passed to Ronnie Steele from a local fan group - the Kes Group.

Mr Steele said he then approached Mr Younger to ask about showing it in the town.

"[The film] made me feel proud, that not only did I belong to Barnsley, but I knew the author of the book, Mr Barry Hines. He taught me in secondary school," Mr Steele said.

"[It is] a snapshot of Barnsley as it really was at that time. People were really proud that the characters were ordinary, working-class people, but at the same time, they were clever, smart, witty."

Mr Bradley, who was 14 when he made his acting debut as protagonist Billy, said he looked forward to seeing the original copy of the film again on the big screen.

He recalled how he used to go to the venue as a young boy, admitting he would often be let in through a fire escape in the gents toilet by his friends to watch films for free.

"Kes has that wonderful quality of being so real, and that's why people resonate towards it, and it's quite funny in places," he told the BBC.

"I think it's still wonderful that we still have one or two copies of this wonderful piece of magic. That's the only way I can describe it.

"The fact people still want to see it, and still stop me in the streets pretty much every day to say how much they loved the film and my portrayal of Billy, it's really quite warming."

Mr Younger, who will screen the film at the cinema on 15 June, said he felt it "needs to be seen" by a Barnsley audience again,

"You can look at the film tins all day long and go 'yeah, that's lovely', but you need to see it on the screen, you need to see that moving image," he said.

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