Mike Leigh received a standing ovation in London for his first feature film, "Kind Loving Care," likely his last, at the London Film Festival.

British audiences are not typically known for standing ovations, but when one of their most beloved filmmakers takes a final bow, unwritten rules are broken. This was certainly true of Mike Leigh, who on Thursday received a champion's welcome at the London Film Festival for the premiere of "Kind Loving Care," a film […]

British audiences aren't usually ones to give a standing ovation, but when one of their most beloved filmmakers takes his final bow, the unwritten rules are broken.

That was certainly the case for Mike Leigh, who received a hero's welcome at the London Film Festival on Thursday for "Tender Loving Care," a film he says will likely be his last.

The director - an icon of British cinema with a string of hits that includes 'Secrets and Lies', 'Nude', 'Vera Drake' (which opened the 2004 London Film Festival), 'Happy-Go-Lucky' and 'Topsy-turvy' - was greeted on stage by a near-boom from the audience in London before the screening, after seeing the second screening. The Royal Festival Hall rose to its feet in appreciation. RELATED STORIES Netflix lays off 6% of workforce, cuts nearly 1,000 jobs in biggest job cuts to date Why Netflix, Amazon and other broadcasters haven't been saviors for kids' content industry.

When the applause died down, the director replied in typical Lee fashion, "You haven't seen it yet." Popular in Variety

Starring Kate O'Flynn, Marion Bailey and Paul Jesson, Loving Care - shot and filmed in London - explores themes of ageing, grief and relationships, while shining a harsh light on Britain's underfunded health and welfare system. The film premiered at Telluride and won both the top prize at the San Sebastian Film Festival and the best actor award for O'Flynn.

Speaking to Tariqli, he said the film would be his final film in San Sebastian due to his health problems, echoing comments he had made before. "It's quite simple, I have a medical condition [myositis] that affects my muscle movement and it's very difficult to move around," he said. It's certainly harder for a filmmaker than it should be, and therefore, there's a good chance this will be my last film. That's it."

"It's a practical thing to do with my medical condition — a physical condition," he added.

Lee has a long history at the London Film Festival and many of his films have been screened there. Alongside titles such as Another Year, Peterloo, Naked, Vera Drake, Life Is Sweet (which had its world premiere at LFF in 1990), Mr Turner and last year's Hard Truths, Lee brought his first feature film, 1971, to the 1971 festival.