Latest news with #BasementFilms
North Wales Chronicle
3 hours ago
- Entertainment
- North Wales Chronicle
BBC will not broadcast Gaza documentary over ‘perception of partiality' risk
The corporation commissioned Gaza: Doctors Under Attack more than a year ago from an independent production company called Basement Films. The documentary includes witness accounts from frontline Palestinian health workers in Gaza and documents attacks on hospitals and clinics. It was delayed by the BBC until an ongoing review into a different programme in the region was completed. The BBC pulled the documentary How To Survive A Warzone in February after it emerged that its 13-year-old narrator was the son of a Hamas official. The corporation has now confirmed that Gaza: Doctors Under Attack will not air on the BBC at all. In a statement, the BBC said they had paused production of this film in April, having made a decision that they could not broadcast the film while a review into a separate Gaza documentary was ongoing. The BBC said that with both films coming from independent production companies, and both about Gaza, it was right to wait for any relevant findings – and put them into action – before broadcasting the film. 'However, we wanted the doctors' voices to be heard. Our aim was to find a way to air some of the material in our news programmes, in line with our impartiality standards, before the review was published. 'For some weeks, the BBC has been working with Basement Films to find a way to tell the stories of these doctors on our platforms. 'Yesterday, it became apparent that we have reached the end of the road with these discussions. 'We have come to the conclusion that broadcasting this material risked creating a perception of partiality that would not meet the high standards that the public rightly expect of the BBC. 'Impartiality is a core principle of BBC News. It is one of the reasons that we are the world's most trusted broadcaster. 'Therefore, we are transferring ownership of the film material to Basement Films. 'Contrary to some reports, since we paused production of Gaza: Doctors Under Attack in April, it has not undergone the BBC's final pre-broadcast sign-off processes. 'Any film broadcast will not be a BBC film,' the BBC said. The corporation added: 'We want to thank the doctors and contributors and we are sorry we could not tell their stories. The BBC will continue to cover events in Gaza impartially.' Last month, Oscar-winning actress Susan Sarandon and comedian Frankie Boyle were among hundreds of signatories calling on the BBC to air the documentary. The letter, signed by figures from across the film, TV, journalism and cultural sectors, was sent on behalf of the UK Screen Industry, made up of a 'group of concerned film and TV professionals'. Earlier this month, the BBC defended its coverage of the war in Gaza, after the White House criticised its reporting of an apparent incident in the territory, which reportedly left a number of people dead. Press secretary Karoline Leavitt claimed the corporation, after updating an article's headline with new information, had to 'correct and take down' its story about fatalities and injuries following a reported incident near an aid distribution centre in Rafah. The BBC said it had not removed its story and explained that its headlines about the incident were 'updated throughout the day with the latest fatality figures as they came in from various sources', which is 'totally normal practice'.
Daily Mail
4 hours ago
- Entertainment
- Daily Mail
BBC scraps plans to show documentary about medics in Gaza after new bias concerns
The BBC has decided to scrap plans to show a documentary about medics in Gaza over concerns it 'risked creating a perception of partiality' of its coverage of the conflict. Gaza: Doctors Under Attack was commissioned by the corporation more than a year ago from an independent production company called Basement Films. However, its production was paused in April after an investigation was launched into the making of another controversial documentary, Gaza: How to Survive a War Zone. That programme was taken off the iPlayer earlier this year, and the corporation was forced to apologise after it was revealed that the documentary featured a 13-year-old narrator who is the son of a Hamas government minister and grandson of one of Hamas' s founding members. In the latest controversy over the BBC's coverage of the war, the broadcaster has confirmed discussions over the documentary showing the plight of medics in Gaza had 'reached the end of the road'. The corporation will now transfer ownership of the project to the independent production company that produced it. 'We wanted the doctors' voices to be heard,' the BBC said in a statement. 'Our aim was to find a way to air some of the material in our news programmes, in line with our impartiality standards, before the review was published. 'For some weeks, the BBC has been working with Basement Films to find a way to tell the stories of these doctors on our platforms.' But, the corporation added: 'Yesterday it became apparent that we have reached the end of the road with these discussions. 'We have come to the conclusion that broadcasting this material risked creating a perception of partiality that would not meet the high standards that the public rightly expect of the BBC. 'Impartiality is a core principle of BBC News. It is one of the reasons that we are the world's most trusted broadcaster. 'Therefore, we are transferring ownership of the film material to Basement Films.' It went on to say that since the pause in production of Gaza: Doctors Under Attack, 'it has not undergone the BBC's final pre-broadcast sign-off processes' and 'any film broadcast will not be a BBC film'. Critics were also enraged by the Beeb's failure to disclose who the film's narrator was, leading former director of BBC Television Danny Cohen to say: 'The BBC appears to have given an hour of prime-time coverage to the son of a senior member of the Hamas terrorist group. 'Either they were not aware of the terrorist links because they did not carry out the most basic journalistic checks or the BBC did know and misled audiences about the family's deep involvement with terrorism.' The BBC documentary, Gaza: How to Survive a Warzone, was broadcast on BBC Two with the aim of showing a 'vivid and unflinching view of life' in the enclave Since the allegations were made, the BBC has apologised and added new text to the film which explains who Abdullah and his father are. In an email exchange via the BBC, Abdullah reportedly said he wanted to be part of the documentary, which was made by Hoyo Films, 'to explain the suffering that people here in Gaza witness with the language that the world understands, English.' He is said to have asked to be involved to help viewers learn about the situation on the ground without being 'blurred by misinformation'. The BBC documentary, Gaza: How to Survive a Warzone, was broadcast on February 17 on BBC Two with the aim of showing a 'vivid and unflinching view of life' in the strip. It was made by two producers based in London who remotely directed two cameramen on the ground over nine months. Independent investigative journalist David Collier claimed one of the child narrators, Abdullah, is the son of a Hamas government minister and grandson of one of Hamas's founding members. Using Facebook and publicly available data online, Mr Collier claimed the show's young star is the son of Gaza's deputy minister of agriculture Dr Ayman Al-Yazouri. This would mean his grandfather would be the Hamas founder Ibrahim al-Yazouri, who has previously been jailed by Egypt and Israel for involvement in proscribed groups. The Daily Mail has not been able to independently verify Mr Collier's claims. The BBC apologised for the inclusion of the documentary's young star, with a spokesperson for the corporation saying: 'Since the transmission of our documentary on Gaza, the BBC has become aware of the family connections of the film's narrator, a child called Abdullah. 'We've promised our audiences the highest standards of transparency, so it is only right that as a result of this new information, we add some more detail to the film before its retransmission. We apologise for the omission of that detail from the original film.' The BBC said the new text attached to the film: 'The narrator of this film is 13 year old Abdullah. His father has worked as a deputy agriculture minister for the Hamas-run government in Gaza. The production team had full editorial control of filming with Abdullah.' 'We followed all of our usual compliance procedures in the making of this film, but we had not been informed of this information by the independent producers when we complied and then broadcast the finished film,' the statement added. 'The film remains a powerful child's eye view of the devastating consequences of the war in Gaza which we believe is an invaluable testament to their experiences, and we must meet our commitment to transparency.'
Rhyl Journal
4 hours ago
- Entertainment
- Rhyl Journal
BBC will not broadcast Gaza documentary over ‘perception of partiality' risk
The corporation commissioned Gaza: Doctors Under Attack more than a year ago from an independent production company called Basement Films. The documentary includes witness accounts from frontline Palestinian health workers in Gaza and documents attacks on hospitals and clinics. It was delayed by the BBC until an ongoing review into a different programme in the region was completed. The BBC pulled the documentary How To Survive A Warzone in February after it emerged that its 13-year-old narrator was the son of a Hamas official. The corporation has now confirmed that Gaza: Doctors Under Attack will not air on the BBC at all. In a statement, the BBC said they had paused production of this film in April, having made a decision that they could not broadcast the film while a review into a separate Gaza documentary was ongoing. The BBC said that with both films coming from independent production companies, and both about Gaza, it was right to wait for any relevant findings – and put them into action – before broadcasting the film. 'However, we wanted the doctors' voices to be heard. Our aim was to find a way to air some of the material in our news programmes, in line with our impartiality standards, before the review was published. 'For some weeks, the BBC has been working with Basement Films to find a way to tell the stories of these doctors on our platforms. 'Yesterday, it became apparent that we have reached the end of the road with these discussions. 'We have come to the conclusion that broadcasting this material risked creating a perception of partiality that would not meet the high standards that the public rightly expect of the BBC. 'Impartiality is a core principle of BBC News. It is one of the reasons that we are the world's most trusted broadcaster. 'Therefore, we are transferring ownership of the film material to Basement Films. 'Contrary to some reports, since we paused production of Gaza: Doctors Under Attack in April, it has not undergone the BBC's final pre-broadcast sign-off processes. 'Any film broadcast will not be a BBC film,' the BBC said. The corporation added: 'We want to thank the doctors and contributors and we are sorry we could not tell their stories. The BBC will continue to cover events in Gaza impartially.' Last month, Oscar-winning actress Susan Sarandon and comedian Frankie Boyle were among hundreds of signatories calling on the BBC to air the documentary. The letter, signed by figures from across the film, TV, journalism and cultural sectors, was sent on behalf of the UK Screen Industry, made up of a 'group of concerned film and TV professionals'. Earlier this month, the BBC defended its coverage of the war in Gaza, after the White House criticised its reporting of an apparent incident in the territory, which reportedly left a number of people dead. Press secretary Karoline Leavitt claimed the corporation, after updating an article's headline with new information, had to 'correct and take down' its story about fatalities and injuries following a reported incident near an aid distribution centre in Rafah. The BBC said it had not removed its story and explained that its headlines about the incident were 'updated throughout the day with the latest fatality figures as they came in from various sources', which is 'totally normal practice'.
Middle East Eye
6 hours ago
- Entertainment
- Middle East Eye
BBC drops film about Gaza doctors after delaying its broadcast for months
The BBC has announced it has dropped a film about doctors working in Gaza after delaying its broadcast for months. The documentary, Gaza: Medics Under Fire, was ready to broadcast in February but was pulled because of a scandal that erupted over another BBC documentary on children in Gaza, entitled How to Survive a Warzone. Britain's public broadcaster said it would broadcast Gaza: Medics Under Fire after the review into the earlier documentary was concluded. But on Friday, the BBC announced it would not air the film. "We have come to the conclusion that broadcasting this material risked creating a perception of partiality that would not meet the high standards that the public rightly expect of the BBC," the broadcaster said in a statement. New MEE newsletter: Jerusalem Dispatch Sign up to get the latest insights and analysis on Israel-Palestine, alongside Turkey Unpacked and other MEE newsletters "Therefore, we are transferring ownership of the film material to Basement Films... Any film broadcast will not be a BBC film." 'No moral or professional reason' Basement Films, the company which produced the documentary, had previously questioned the BBC's decision to delay the broadcast, saying, "there is no moral or professional reason why a mistake in one film should repeatedly prevent the release of another film." In a statement on Friday, Basement Films said: "we would like to thank the Doctors and contributors and survivors, and to apologise for not believing them when they said the BBC would never run a film like this. BBC coverage of Israel's war on Gaza 'systematically biased against Palestinians' Read More » "It turned out they were right." The documentary tells the stories of Palestinian doctors working in Gaza under Israeli bombardment and was made by Oscar-nominated, Emmy and Peabody award-winning filmmakers, including Ben de Pear, Karim Shah and Ramita Navai. The BBC did not explain in its statement why the film would not have met "the high standards that the public rightly expect of the BBC". Basement Films said that the BBC "gave us no less than 6 different release dates" after having "told us several times verbally and by email" that the film "had been approved for broadcast". In May, over 600 prominent figures from the arts and media wrote to the BBC, accusing it of "political censorship" over its delay in screening the documentary. "Although the BBC are now taking their names off this film," Basement Films said, "it will remain theirs, and we hope it serves to open up the debate on how the nation's broadcaster covers what is happening in Gaza."
BBC News
6 hours ago
- Entertainment
- BBC News
BBC statement about Gaza: Doctors Under Attack
BBC News is determined to report all aspects of the conflict in the Middle East impartially and fairly. Over a year ago we commissioned Gaza: Doctors Under Attack, a documentary about the plight of medics in Gaza, from an independent production company, Basement Films. We paused production of this film in April, having made a decision that we could not broadcast the film while a review into a separate Gaza documentary was ongoing. With both films coming from independent production companies, and both about Gaza, it was right to wait for any relevant findings – and put them into action – before broadcasting the film. However, we wanted the doctors' voices to be heard. Our aim was to find a way to air some of the material in our news programmes, in line with our impartiality standards, before the review was published. For some weeks, the BBC has been working with Basement Films to find a way to tell the stories of these doctors on our platforms. Yesterday it became apparent that we have reached the end of the road with these discussions. We have come to the conclusion that broadcasting this material risked creating a perception of partiality that would not meet the high standards that the public rightly expect of the BBC. Impartiality is a core principle of BBC News. It is one of the reasons that we are the world's most trusted broadcaster. Therefore, we are transferring ownership of the film material to Basement Films. Contrary to some reports, since we paused production of Gaza: Doctors Under Attack in April, it has not undergone the BBC's final pre-broadcast sign-off processes. Any film broadcast will not be a BBC film. The BBC has produced powerful coverage of this conflict. Alongside breaking news and ongoing analysis, we have produced award winning documentaries such as Life and Death in Gaza, and Gaza 101. We have also investigated allegations of abuse of Palestinian prisoners and Israel's attacks on Gaza's hospitals. Just today we are running a powerful piece of longform journalism that captures the final two weeks inside a Gaza hospital before it was forced to close. We want to thank the doctors and contributors and we are sorry we could not tell their stories. The BBC will continue to cover events in Gaza impartially.
