BBC unveils new docs on Maze escape, Aberfan disaster, Muslim life after 9/11

Mobeen Azhar (left) and Masood Khan front Being Muslim After 9/11 (working title)

DOCFEST: The BBC’s factual department has unveiled four documentary commissions, including films exploring the Maze prison escape, the Aberfan disaster and life for British Muslims in the 25 years since the September 11 attacks.

From its Documentaries team comes Prison Break: Escape from the Maze (working title), a feature-length 90-minute film for BBC Two, BBC Northern Ireland and iPlayer examining how 38 republican prisoners escaped from the high-security Maze Prison in County Antrim, Northern Ireland, in 1983.

Produced by Walk On Air and directed by Sian McIlwaine, the film draws on interviews with escapees and former prison officers, while exploring the tensions that led to the escape and its wider political and security consequences. It was commissioned by Clare Sillery, former head of commissioning, documentaries, and Mary McKeagney, BBC Northern Ireland commissioning editor.

Also from Documentaries is Bel, a 90-minute film for BBC Two, BBC Scotland and iPlayer telling the story of Beldina Odenyo, a Kenyan-Scottish musician and songwriter who performed as Heir of the Cursed and took her own life following an acclaimed performance at the Scottish Album of the Year Awards in 2021.

The film, produced by Hopscotch Films and directed by Louise Lockwood, follows Odenyo’s sister and friends as they work to release her music posthumously. It was ordered by Sillery and David Harron, commissioning editor for BBC Scotland, and is supported by Screen Scotland, the BBC and the National Theatre of Scotland.

From the BBC’s Specialist Factual unit comes Being Muslim After 9/11 (working title), a 60-minute film for BBC Two and iPlayer following filmmakers Mobeen Azhar and Masood Khan as they travel across Britain speaking to people from the Muslim community about how life has changed since the 2001 attacks.

Produced by We Are Forest and directed by Khan, the film examines questions of identity and belonging for British Muslims a quarter of a century on. It was commissioned by Jack Bootle, head of commissioning, specialist factual.

The fourth title, Aberfan: The People’s Fight (working title), is a 60-minute film for BBC Two, BBC One Wales and iPlayer marking the 60th anniversary of the disaster in which a collapsing coal waste tip engulfed a school and neighbouring homes in the Welsh village of Aberfan, killing 144 people, including 116 children.

Made in Wales by BBC Studios Specialist Factual Productions and directed by Ceri Isfryn, the film was ordered by Bootle and Nick Andrews, head of commissioning for BBC Cymru Wales.

Announcing the titles at DocFest in Sheffield over the weekend, Bootle said of the two Specialist Factual projects: “These are two powerful British documentaries about the long shadow cast by historic events. Together, they show how history echoes through generations, leaving legacies that are felt not just in our institutions and politics, but in people’s everyday lives.”