documentary

Universities welcomed to a special screening of My Childhood, My Country: 20 Years in Afghanistan

Child smiling and pointing at camera

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.

Stacey Dooley to follow Ukrainian recruits for new BBC documentary

Stacey Dooley stands in the foreground, with soldiers training behind her

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.

New BBC World Service documentary exhibits Russians rallying against Ukraine War

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.

BBC drama to tell story of 2017 Grenfell Tower fire

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.

New emotional one-off documentary Matt Willis: Addiction and Me announced for BBC One

Musician Matt Willis stands in a plaid shirt and glasses

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. 

Channel 4 to chart the rise and fall of Boris Johnson for new docuseries

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.

Channel 4 commissions Myanmar: The Forgotten Revolution

Credit: Channel 4

The documentary will delve into the truth behind three devastating mass killings, filled with video footage and eye witness testimonies.

The evidence will explain how potential war crimes have been committed, and how soldiers continuously target peaceful protestors, those trying to help the wounded and burn people alive.

Filmed over the course of a year, a group of young Burmese activists show the nation’s decline into civil war. 

Ellie Simmonds explores disability and adoption in ITV documentary

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Paralympic gold medallist Ellie Simmonds will investigate why about 40 percent of children in the care system in England and Wales have a registered disability.

This is a marked increase compared to the rest of the population, which is eight percent, and Simmonds wants to learn why this is the case.

To uncover the truth behind these statistics, Simmonds meets families who have adopted disabled children and those who felt unable to raise a disabled child.

Channel 4 announces documentary Spacey Unmasked

The two-part series, produced by Roast Beef Productions, takes a deep dive into a man who was once considered one of the most powerful and respected actors in the world. 

The series tells the story of his childhood and growing success on Broadway which led to a meteoric rise to fame and stardom. 

This all came crashing down when he was accused by multiple men of grooming, sexual harassment and abuse.