“We refuse to be silenced”: Gaza filmmakers condemn BBC at BAFTAs

In a pointed rebuke to the UK’s national broadcaster, the makers of the documentary Gaza: Doctors Under Attack used their BAFTA TV Awards victory on Sunday to condemn the BBC for shelving the project over "partiality" concerns.

The film, which won in the Current Affairs category, was originally commissioned and funded by the BBC. However, the broadcaster declined to air it last year, leading to its eventual acquisition and broadcast by Channel 4 in July.

Acceptance speeches & broadcast edits 

During the ceremony at London’s Royal Festival Hall, the production team took to the stage to deliver a series of blistering acceptance speeches. Executive producer Ben de Pear directly challenged the BBC, which was broadcasting the awards ceremony on a two-hour delay.

"Just a question for the BBC: Given you dropped our film, will you drop us from the BAFTA screening later tonight?" de Pear asked from the podium.

Journalist and presenter Ramita Navai echoed the sentiment, highlighting the findings of the investigation into the targeting of Palestinian healthcare workers. “These are the findings of our investigation that the BBC paid for but refused to show,” Navai told the audience. “But we refuse to be silenced and censored. We thank Channel 4 for showing this film.”

Portions of Ramita Navai’s speech were condensed. While the BBC did broadcast some of her acceptance, the parts that were edited included her specific mention of the documentary’s findings about medical staff in Gaza. These staggering statistics from their reporting, which was completely edited out of the BBC screening, include:

• “Israel has killed over 47,000 children and women in Gaza.”
• “It's killed over 1,700 Palestinian doctors and health care workers.”
• “It has imprisoned over 400 in what the UN now calls the medicide.”

BBC’s defense

The BBC originally commissioned the film from Basement Films but opted not to broadcast it following a lengthy review.

The corporation defended its decision by stating the film risked creating "a perception of partiality that would not meet the high standards that the public rightly expect of the BBC," adding that impartiality remains a "core principle."