The BBC will trace the history of conflict in the Middle East in a documentary series that extends its BAFTA-winning Once Upon A Time In… brand.
Once Upon a Time in the Middle East (working title) has been greenlit by BBC Two following the success of Once Upon A Time In Iraq and Once Upon a Time In Northern Ireland.
Produced by Keo Films, the five-part documentary will take a long-term view of the war in Gaza, examining the roots of a conflict that has affected both Israelis and Palestinians.
It will interview ordinary people from all sides of the war, as well as screen rare and unseen archive and user-generated footage to tell human stories.
Director James Bluemel said: “Our Once Upon a Time documentary strand gives regular people the space to share their experience of historical events without judgement and seeks empathy and understanding from all sides.”
Announced at the Sheffield DocFest, BBC docs chief Clare Sillery added: “His [Bluemel] ability to draw out and connect intimate unheard stories, combined with unseen archive is truly remarkable, helping us experience events through the eyes of others, even those with whom we may profoundly disagree.”
Once Upon a Time in the Middle East is executive produced by Will Anderson and Andrew Palmer. The BBC commissioning editor is Fran Baker.
The next iteration of the Once Upon A Time In… will take viewers to space. Once Upon A Time In Iraq won a BAFTA in 2021 for Best Factual Series.
Sillery announced a number of other projects, including a two-part series fronted by Mobeen Azhar, which attempts to uncover what’s going on inside the UK prison system. Titled Coerced or Corrupted: Inside Prisons, it is produced by Forest.
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