It's the combination of such raw, immediate footage, and the completely candid testimonies of civilians and soldiers, that makes James W Newton's documentary on the Taliban's capture of Kabul in 2021, Evacuation, so indelible.
In one of the instalments, Whitmore will explore the world of ‘involuntary celibates’ or ‘incels’, a male-dominated online community where men who find it difficult to interact with women engage in anti-women discourse. In recent years these forums have moved off the internet and into the real world; in both the UK and US, incels have sought ‘vengeance’ for their feelings of rejection in the form of violence, including mass shootings.
Actor and activist Tommy Jessop was born with Down Syndrome. Having always dreamed of having a leading role, Jessop felt his career was on the right path after starring in the fifth series of Line of Duty. Since then, however, further top roles have yet to materialise for Jessop, so he has decided to take the matter into his own hands.
The rapt audience were shown Grabsky’s multiple-award-winning feature documentary My Childhood, My Country: 20 Years in Afghanistan, before being treated to a 90-minute discussion.
My Childhood, My Country won the Documentary prize at the RTS Southern Awards in 2022 and then the Bafta for Best Single Documentary.
The director explained how the film was a follow-up to two previous documentaries following Mir, initially a boy of seven, into his twenties.
Dooley is no stranger to frontline investigations, having previously embedded herself in the all-female Yazidi battalion in Stacey on the Frontline: Girls, Guns and ISIS. But her new feature-length documentary Stacey Dooley: Ready For War? will bring her closer to home.
The Ukrainian civilians first arrive in Britain to engage in five weeks of the British Army’s rigorous training programme. Dooley will see first-hand the emotional and physical challenges the young recruits go through as they learn survival skills and fighting strategies.
The initiative has catapulted many aspiring directors to success, with previous participants going on to work on international series and feature documentaries for the BBC, Netflix, Amazon and Sky.
After Russia’s war censorship laws were introduced following Putin’s invasion of Ukraine, it became virtually impossible to speak up against the war in Russia. Journalists fled the country, media outlets closed, and individuals began to be arrested as they criticised the conflict.
Storyville, Inside Russia: Traitors and Heroes follows one small, independent YouTube channel battling against this censorship. Two journalists document stories from the perspectives of a selection of Russian citizens throughout the past year of war.
The BBC has commissioned Grenfell, a drama centred on the 2017 Grenfell Tower fire tragedy which killed 72 people, displaced many more, and dismantled a west London community.
The story will be told through the eyes of the people involved, recounting the stories of the victims, their families and friends, and the firefighters tasked with handling the worst residential fire in Britain since the Second World War.
The no holds barred, raw and open documentary will uncover the struggles the musician, actor and dad of three has experienced with drug and alcohol addiction.
It was a battle that pushed him to the brink, and despite reaching dizzying heights of success as part of the band Busted, Willis was finding it hard to cope behind closed doors.
Willis will look at the potential reasons behind his addiction and speak to other families, experts, counsellors and support groups to try and understand why some people become alcohol and drug dependent.
Boris will look at the events that shaped the man from his time at Eton College through to his premiership.
Across four hour-long episodes, the documentary will draw from rare archive footage and consult those with intimate knowledge of Johnson - both friends and enemies – to reveal his true character.
