Gaza documentary makers blast BBC at Bafta after broadcaster shelved their award-winning film
'Gaza: Doctors Under Attack' wins current affairs prize as filmmakers accuse BBC of censorship; broadcaster edits acceptance speech
LONDON, United Kingdom (MNTV) – The makers of a documentary about attacks on Gaza’s healthcare system used their Bafta TV Awards acceptance speech Sunday to publicly challenge the BBC, which had declined to broadcast their film before it went on to win the current affairs prize — and then reportedly edited their remarks from the ceremony’s televised broadcast.
“Gaza: Doctors Under Attack,” which features firsthand accounts from Palestinian health workers, was honored at London’s Royal Festival Hall nearly a year after the BBC refused to air it, citing partiality concerns.
The film was later picked up and broadcast by Channel 4.
The Bafta ceremony itself was aired on BBC One with a delay of more than two hours.
Accepting the award, executive producer Ben de Pear addressed the BBC directly. “Finally, just a question for the BBC: given you dropped our film, will you drop us from the Bafta screening later tonight?” he said.
Journalist and presenter Ramita Navai was equally pointed, saying: “These are the findings of our investigation that the BBC paid for but refused to show. But we refuse to be silenced and censored. We thank Channel 4 for showing this film.”
Navai also dedicated the award to Palestinian medical workers held in Israeli detention centers, alleging that more than 1,700 Palestinian doctors and healthcare workers had been killed and more than 400 detained. According to reports, the BBC subsequently edited portions of Navai’s remarks from its televised broadcast following consultation with its compliance team.
The BBC had originally commissioned the documentary from independent production company Basement Films but delayed its release while conducting a separate review into another Gaza-related film.
It ultimately decided not to broadcast “Gaza: Doctors Under Attack,” saying it risked creating “a perception of partiality that would not meet the high standards that the public rightly expect of the BBC,” and citing impartiality as “a core principle of BBC News.”
Channel 4 acquired and broadcast the film in July last year.
Speaking backstage after the win, de Pear paid tribute to Gazan journalists Jaber Badwan and Osana Al Ashi, who contributed footage to the documentary, saying the team “woke up every day wondering if the two journalists on the ground were still alive.”
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