Latest news with #MikeLeigh
The Independent
24-05-2025
- Entertainment
- The Independent
Eddie Marsan on racism, typecasting and Keir Starmer
Eddie Marsan stars as FBI investigator Tom Thurman in the BBC drama 'The Bombing of Pan Am 103', after escaping typecasting as a Cockney actor. Marsan credits director Mike Leigh for helping him land more serious roles and teaching him to be honest in his acting. Starring in 'Ray Donovan' increased Marsan's profile in America he says, leading to more diverse roles after he felt typecast in the UK. Marsan is critical of extremism and right-wing views, recounting his past experiences with racism and his departure from X (formerly Twitter) due to its extremist content. Marsan is launching a production company with his wife to create roles for character actors, including women, and plans to direct, drawing on his 30 years of experience on film sets.
Middle East Eye
12-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Middle East Eye
BBC accused of 'political censorship' over failure to release Gaza medics documentary
The BBC has been accused of "political censorship" as it faces increasing pressure to broadcast a film it commissioned about Palestinian doctors working in Gaza. Over 600 prominent figures from the arts and media, including British film director Mike Leigh, Oscar-winning actor Susan Sarandon and Lindsey Hilsum, the international editor of Channel 4 News, have signed an open letter calling on the corporation to release Gaza: Medics Under Fire, which has been ready for broadcast since February. The letter, sent to BBC Director-General Tim Davie on Monday, criticises the BBC for withholding the documentary, which tells the stories of Palestinian doctors working in Gaza under Israeli bombardment, despite months of editorial reviews and fact-checking. "We stand with the medics of Gaza whose voices are being silenced. Their urgent stories are being buried by bureaucracy and political censorship," the letter reads. "This is not editorial caution. It's political suppression. The BBC has provided no timeline, no transparency. Such decisions reinforce the systemic devaluation of Palestinian lives in our media." New MEE newsletter: Jerusalem Dispatch Sign up to get the latest insights and analysis on Israel-Palestine, alongside Turkey Unpacked and other MEE newsletters Other well-known signatories to the letter include the actors Miriam Margolyes, Harriet Walter, Maxine Peake and Juliet Stevenson, and the comedians Alexei Sayle and Frankie Boyle. Among 130 anonymous signatories are more than a dozen BBC staff. Despite being signed off by the British broadcaster's lawyers, Gaza: Medics Under Fire, which was made by Oscar-nominated, Emmy and Peabody award-winning filmmakers, including Ben de Pear, Karim Shah and Ramita Navai, has not been aired because of a furore that erupted over another BBC documentary on children in Gaza, entitled How to Survive a Warzone. The BBC launched a review into that film after the Israeli embassy in London and British ministers criticised it after it was revealed that the father of its 13-year-old narrator, Abdullah al-Yazuri, was a technocrat in Gaza's Hamas-administered government. 'This is not editorial caution. It's political suppression. The BBC has provided no timeline, no transparency. Such decisions reinforce the systemic devaluation of Palestinian lives in our media' - Letter to BBC The new film has been signed off by the broadcaster's lawyers, and the BBC reportedly abandoned an earlier plan to screen the film despite the legal review. The signatories to the letter express their "deep concern about the censorship of Palestinian voices - this time, medics operating in unimaginable conditions in Gaza", and argue that the BBC "continues to demonstrate bias in its reporting and coverage of events in Gaza, raising continued concern and criticism about the balance and impartiality of its journalism in this region." Health Workers 4 Palestine, a grassroots movement of health workers, said in their statement: 'The health workers featured in this documentary have witnessed countless colleagues being killed, and have risked their lives not only to care for their patients, but to document and expose the relentless targeting by Israel of healthcare infrastructure and personnel.' The production company, Basement Films, said in a statement: 'We gathered searing testimony from multiple Palestinian doctors and health care workers…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.' A spokesperson for the BBC said: "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."
The Guardian
12-05-2025
- Entertainment
- The Guardian
Susan Sarandon among hundreds to urge BBC to release delayed Gaza film
Oscar winning actor Susan Sarandon and British filmmaker Mike Leigh are among hundreds of figures from the cultural world accusing the BBC of censoring 'Palestinian voices', after its decision to delay the broadcast of a documentary on medics in Gaza. Tim Davie, the BBC's director general, has received an open letter signed by more than 600 industry figures – including some of his own employees – stating that editorial caution over the subject has spilled over into 'political suppression'. The signatories demand the immediate release of Gaza: Medics Under Fire, claiming it has undergone extensive editorial reviews and fact-checking and has been 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 states. '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.' The BBC has said the programme's airing had been delayed while it investigates the production of another documentary, Gaza: How to Survive a Warzone, which was pulled from iPlayer after it emerged its young narrator was the son of a Hamas official. There are concerns among some BBC staff that the corporation has become paralysed over its handling of the issue. Gaza: Medics Under Fire was produced by a team including Ben de Pear, a former editor of Channel 4 News. Other notable signatories of the letter demanding its release include Game of Thrones star Indira Varma, as well as fellow actors Harriet Walter, Miriam Margolyes, Maxine Peake and Juliet Stevenson. NHS doctors involved in helping to set up the film are said to be among those concerned about the delay. Basement Films, the production company behind the programme, has already expressed its disappointment. 'We gathered searing testimony from multiple Palestinian doctors and healthcare workers,' it said. '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 conclude its internal review into the making of Gaza: How to Survive a Warzone. Samir Shah, the BBC's chair, said the failings in making the programme had been a 'dagger to the heart' of the corporation's claims of trustworthiness and impartiality. The BBC has been contacted for comment.
Yahoo
12-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Susan Sarandon, Mike Leigh Among 600+ Signatories of Open Letter Demanding That BBC Air Delayed Gaza Medics Documentary
Oscar winner Susan Sarandon, acclaimed filmmaker Mike Leigh and Channel 4 international editor Lindsey Hilsum are among more than 600 prominent figures who have signed an open letter urging the BBC to broadcast the delayed documentary 'Gaza: Medics Under Fire.' The letter, addressed to BBC director-general Tim Davie, expresses 'deep concern about the censorship of Palestinian voices' and calls for the immediate release of the documentary, which follows medical workers in Gaza. The signatories include 130 anonymous participants, with more than a dozen identified as BBC staff members. More from Variety How to Watch the 2025 BAFTA TV Awards Online 'Nonnas' Review: Vince Vaughn Enlists Italian Grandmothers in Middling but Pleasant Cooking Comedy Prince Harry Interview Coverage on Radio 4's 'Today' Featured 'Lapse in Usual High Editorial Standards' by Not Challenging 'Establishment Stitch-Up' Claim, BBC Says 'Gaza: Medics Under Fire' was produced by an award-winning team including Emmy and Peabody recipients Ben de Pear, Karim Shah and Ramita Navai. Originally scheduled to air in January, the documentary has been 'indefinitely delayed' despite reportedly undergoing 'rigorous editorial scrutiny' and multiple fact-checks. 'This is not editorial caution. It's political suppression,' the letter states. 'The BBC has provided no timeline, no transparency. Such decisions reinforce the systemic devaluation of Palestinian lives in our media.' The production company, Basement Films, is quoted in the letter stating they 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.' Other notable signatories include actors Miriam Margolyes, Maxine Peake, and Juliet Stevenson, comedians Frankie Boyle and Alexei Sayle, and numerous journalists, filmmakers and media professionals. The letter concludes with a direct demand: 'We demand a release date for 'Gaza: Medics Under Fire' – NOW,' arguing that 'no news organization should quietly decide behind closed doors whose stories are worth telling.' Variety has reached out to the BBC for comment. The controversy comes amid increased scrutiny of BBC's Gaza coverage. In February, the broadcaster faced backlash over another Gaza documentary, 'Gaza: How to Survive a Warzone,' which was pulled from its streaming platform after revelations that its teenage narrator was the son of a Hamas official. The BBC subsequently acknowledged 'serious flaws' in that production process and initiated a review, stating that 'nothing is more important than trust and transparency in our journalism.' Best of Variety New Movies Out Now in Theaters: What to See This Week Emmy Predictions: Talk/Scripted Variety Series - The Variety Categories Are Still a Mess; Netflix, Dropout, and 'Hot Ones' Stir Up Buzz Oscars Predictions 2026: 'Sinners' Becomes Early Contender Ahead of Cannes Film Festival
Gulf Today
31-03-2025
- Entertainment
- Gulf Today
Mike Leigh talks about his new film, life and career
Like the action in his widely acclaimed new film 'Hard Truths,' veteran British director Mike Leigh swings between gratitude and despair as he reflects on his life and career. The 82-year-old is aware of the great fortune he has had to make more than a dozen films over a glittering five-decade run, including 'Secrets and Lies' and 'Vera Drake.' But he is also conscious of the difficulties for the younger generations coming through — and is scared by the 'profoundly worrying' changes underway in the world under US President Donald Trump. 'It's a privilege to be able to make films and it's a privilege which is getting tougher to experience,' he told AFP during a retrospective of his work at the prestigious Cinemateque in Paris. 'I consider myself very lucky. Filmmaking is a joyous experience.' Already working on his next project despite his growing mobility problems — he suffers from a genetic muscular disease called myositis — Leigh says he is troubled by a sense of the world being on the brink. 'It feels like World War Three may be around the corner. 'Now, I never thought I'd say that and I'm old enough to remember the end of World War Two, just about. I was born in the war,' he added. 'It's profoundly worrying and one feels helpless.' 'Hard Truths', praised as one of the Leigh's strongest recent films, is a poignant and sometimes darkly comic story of two sisters that whiplashes viewers with similarly contrasting emotions. Lead character Pansy is a clearly depressed, anxious and aggressive married mother-of-one, played with brio by British actress Marianne Jean-Baptiste. Her sister Chantelle (Michele Austin) is friendly, sociable and easy-going, with a home and family life that stands in sharp contrast. The film reunites the two black British actors from 'Secret and Lies', nearly 30 years after it won the Palme d'Or at the Cannes festival and a host of Oscar nominations. While the 1996 hit was about family and identity, 'Hard Truths' is a study in what makes some people pessimists and self-pitying, while others seem to glide through life's difficulties with smiles on their faces. As is his custom, Leigh offers no obvious answers on screen — and he dodges a question about his thoughts on the issue. 'You're asking me what's the secret of life? I'm not so pretentious or so self-opinionated as to pontificate about how to live,' he replied. 'I've worked very hard. I've used my imagination. I was engaged. For me, it's about engaging with people.' 'Hard Truths' is the first time Leigh has worked with an almost all-black cast, portraying London's vibrant Caribbean-origin community. He has no time for suggestions that he, a white director, should hesitate about taking on such a challenge. 'It seemed a natural thing to do. It's not a quantum leap. 'I raised my kids in north London and they were at school there and black kids were always running in and out of our house,' he explained. 'But on the other hand, it goes without saying, I couldn't sit in a room and write a conventional script for such a film.' He used the same collaborative approach he has deployed throughout his career, starting out with an idea, and then running workshops with the actors to develop the characters, dialogue and plot. 'In making the decision to centre on black characters. 'One of the deliberate things that I've very consciously done is to say: 'This is not going to be a film that deals in tropes and stereotypes and troubles with the law and drug issues and all the gang stuff',' Leigh continued. 'The main issues in the film are universal and are not endemic or exclusive to black people,' he added. He declines to talk about his next project but says finding financing is becoming increasingly difficult because backers — particularly the streaming platforms — want so much say in the final product. Agence France-Presse
