Ailing UK director Mike Leigh wishes he could make '100 more films'

Ailing UK director Mike Leigh wishes he could make '100 more films' Estelle.Bronkhorst Fri, 10/16/2026 - 06:00

LONDON - British filmmaker Mike Leigh told AFP he regretted he could not make "another hundred films" because of ill health, as he attended the London premiere of his prize-winning latest work.

Leigh (83) has myositis, an autoimmune disease that affects the muscles, and now uses a walking stick.

"It's only because I have a medical condition that makes it difficult to do stuff, but otherwise I'd love to make a hundred more films," he told AFP on the red carpet at the London Film Festival ahead of the screening of his film, "Tender Loving Care".

"But it may not be possible, just from a practical point of view."

Leigh won the top prize last month at the San Sebastian film festival for the drama about social workers supporting vulnerable people, expected to be his last feature.

He won top prize at the Cannes film festival in 1996 for "Secrets and Lies" and at Venice in 2004 for "Vera Drake".

Actress Alice Bailey Johnson, one of the new film's stars, said she was "heartbroken" at the prospect that this could be the socially engaged filmmaker's final work.

"But if it is, then I can't express how honoured I feel to be part of it," she told AFP before the screening.

"It's just a wonderful moment, and I will treasure it forever."

• AFP