Susan Sarandon joins call for BBC to air documentary on Gaza medics
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Signatories are calling for the immediate release of Gaza: Medics Under Fire, which they say has been thoroughly fact-checked and ready for broadcast for months.
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Oscar-winning actress Susan Sarandon talks to journalists in a rally against "Israel" and in support of Palestinians outside the Capitol Hill offices of Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-MI), on February 15, 2024, in Washington, DC (AFP)
Oscar-winning actor Susan Sarandon and British filmmaker Mike Leigh are among hundreds of cultural figures accusing the BBC of censoring Palestinian voices after delaying the broadcast of a documentary on Gaza’s medics.
An open letter signed by over 600 industry professionals, some of whom are BBC employees, has been sent to Tim Davie, the network's director general, expressing concern that editorial caution has crossed into "political suppression|'.
The signatories are calling for the immediate release of Gaza: Medics Under Fire, which they say has been thoroughly fact-checked and ready for broadcast for months.
“Every day this film is delayed, the BBC fails in its commitment to inform the public, fails in its journalistic responsibility to report the truth, and fails in its duty of care to these brave contributors,” the letter reads. “No news organisation should quietly decide behind closed doors whose stories are worth telling. This important film should be seen by the public, and its contributors’ bravery honoured.”
BBC’s internal review delays broadcast
The BBC has postponed the show's airing while it examines the creation of another documentary, Gaza: How to Survive a Warzone, which was removed from iPlayer after it was claimed that its child narrator was the son of a Hamas official.
Some BBC employees are concerned that the corporation has become paralyzed in its handling of the crisis. Gaza: Medics Under Fire was created by a team that included former Channel 4 News editor Ben de Pear.
Other prominent signatories of the letter calling for the release of the documentary include Game of Thrones star Indira Varma, as well as actors Harriet Walter, Miriam Margolyes, Maxine Peake, and Juliet Stevenson. NHS doctors who helped set up the film are also reportedly among those concerned about the delay.
Frustration growing
Basement Films, the production company behind the program, has expressed its frustration. “We gathered searing testimony from multiple Palestinian doctors and healthcare workers,” the company stated. “We are desperate for a confirmed release date in order to be able to tell the surviving doctors and medics when their stories will be told.”
It remains unclear when the BBC will complete its internal review of Gaza: How to Survive a Warzone. Samir Shah, the BBC’s chair, described the program’s production failures as a “dagger to the heart” of the corporation’s claims of trustworthiness and impartiality.
A BBC representative stated, “We are committed to journalism which tells our audiences the stories of this war, including what is happening in Gaza. This documentary is a powerful piece of reporting and we will broadcast it as soon as possible."
“We have taken an editorial decision not to do so while we have an ongoing review into a previous documentary Gaza: How to Survive a Warzone.”
