Posted: Fri., Feb. 8, 2008, 1:40pm PT

Ken Loach gives to the needy

Filmmaker screens 'Free World' for homeless

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Ken Loach lived up to his maverick rep at a Feb. 6 screening for London's homeless community at the Prince Charles cinema, Leicester Square.

Loach was invited by London's Open House Film Club (which screens movies for the needy) to introduce his '60s classic on homelessness, "Cathy Come Home."

But noting that the film "is a bit old these days," Loach instead unspooled his newest, "It's a Free World," which debuted to critical raves in the U.K. on Channel 4. Pic examines the bleak lives eked out by homeless illegal immigrants.

The sellout Q&A event was hosted by Christoph Warrack, founder of London's Open House Film Club, who reports that Loach was low maintenance. "He didn't ask for a car to pick him up or anything like that."