Mike Leigh, the 83-year-old British director known for uncompromising independent films about working- and middle-class life, is preparing “Tender Loving Care”, which may be his final feature. The article portrays the film as the latest expression of his refusal to let financiers, distributors or awards campaigns dictate his work, a stance illustrated by his decision not to work with Harvey Weinstein after Weinstein claimed he could have secured Leigh Oscars.

Bleecker Street is funding the low-budget film, a comic and melancholy drama about two social workers, their families and the people they support. Leigh has made around 20 features over more than 50 years, often beginning projects without a script, plot or cast list, and says a muscle-wasting condition called myositis may make further filmmaking impractical despite his continued creative energy. The cast includes Kate O’Flynn, Marion Bailey, Paul Jesson and Alice Bailey Johnson, with real family connections adding resonance to its themes of care and support.