CANNES British film director Ken Loach pitched for Cannes glory on Tuesday with ***"Sweet Sixteen"***, a gritty drama about a teenage drug dealer trying to build a brighter future for him and his

The fiercely committed director, long a favorite at the film festival, won universal acclaim from critics for the performances he drew from the untrained teenage actors making their debuts in the film

But their Scottish accents were so thick Loach decided to add English subtitles for the hundreds of film critics who come to Cannes from around the world.

"We had subtitles out of respect for the audience here," he told a post-screening press conference.

Loach, a master of "Brit-grit" movies, first hit the headlines back in the sixties with the devastating television film ***"Cathy Come Home"*** that gave a political voice to the homeless in Britain.

On the silver screen, ***"Kes"*** -- his 1969 tale of a young boy and his falcon -- was hailed a masterpiece. Often more popular in mainland Europe than he is in his homeland, Loach's subjects have ra

Cannes has garlanded him with jury awards and the reception for ***"Sweet Sixteen"*** put him among the frontrunners for the coveted Palme d'Or award.

For 30 years, Loach has documented the struggles of working class people. His vision is bleak and critics have condemned some of his movies as relentlessly earnest but ***"Sweet Sixteen"*** really gri

Grinning from ear to ear at the press conference, Compston could not believe his luck to be at the world's most glamorous film festival -- but he still confessed his prime ambition was to play soccer

He came fresh to the role after Loach spent three months auditioning up to 300 hopefuls for the role of Liam, who turns to selling drugs in a bid to raise enough money to buy a caravan for him and his

Violence abounds in this grim world of jobless youngsters facing a future without hope on a Scottish housing estate. "I know so many people like that. It wasn't acting," Compston said of his searingly