BBC documentary on Calais

I’m working on a documentary for the BBC about Calais and would really like to speak to some drivers who have experienced the violent ambushes.

Our film has no political agenda, we just want to give viewers a more comprehensive and unbiased picture of what is going on than they might have seen in the media. We have filmed on the ground in Calais extensively over the last year and a half and have witnessed and filmed on five occasions migrant ambushes designed to halt trucks to allow migrants to board them. It’d be great to accompany this with stories of three or four drivers who’ve regularly gone through these attacks and hear their experiences first-hand.

If anyone is interested in speaking to me or has any questions, please send me a PM.

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Media post OK’ed by dd and stickied until 06/09/17.

Because drivers get painted/edited in such a great light by the media…

(Even on this very subject)

More fool anyone who expects accurate and non biased representation.

You need to work on the theory of oxymorons to find out why the words BBC and unbiased should never appear on the same page.

the maoster:
You need to work on the theory of oxymorons to find out why the words BBC and unbiased should never appear on the same page.

… +1 What he said!!

Amos:
I’m working on a documentary for the BBC about Calais …

Edited out. This came across as a personal dig at the OP which was not my intent.

i reckon the above just about sums it up

Speaking personally as a member of TN…

Some interesting comments so far.

This raises some points for me… it might be that Amos works for an organisation that’s completely separate to the BBC, but he’ll be able to clarify that.

My personal reservation is that the BBC will have final editorial control over Amos’ documentary, or that he’s already been instructed as to the scope/extent of its content.
I sincerely hope that I’m very wrong about that.

The next thing I’ve noticed is that Amos is seeking to hear the experiences of drivers who have ‘run the gauntlet’ of attacks by migrants because he’s already got footage of the attacks themselves “on five occasions.”

So far, to me anyway, fairness dictates that he should seek the actual experiences of drivers in order to gain a complete (=bigger) picture of the situation.

IMHO, some of the excellent points made by bullitt above should be included for balance in the documentary, because the simple fact is that they are true. In particular, the migrants ARE committing crimes, seemingly with impunity, against drivers going about their lawful work.

Will the documentary address this next question?
Let’s imagine that the same thing happens anywhere else in France…
A gang of criminals forces a truck to stop, threatens or assaults the driver and causes damage to the truck including (possibly) breaking a customs seal.
What would be the penalty for this under applicable laws and why isn’t the same law and penalty applied to criminals in Calais?
Does their status as ‘migrants’ alter that they are committing crime(s)■■

Maybe the documentary could point out that drivers can be fined for each immigrant found on board their truck, even though the driver is not allowed to be with the truck whilst it’s on the ferry. This means that if the migrants can get on board the ferry, then they can break into and stow away in a truck and the driver STILL gets fined.

It’s all very well having the truth, but IMHO unless it’s the WHOLE truth, then the documentary will be no more than pointless voyeuristic entertainment for those who will never know any better.

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Now with my forum manager’s hat on…
Amos has asked for the experiences of drivers as per his OP, which is a fair enough request.
It’s a discussion topic, so anybody can discuss it (within forum rules!)
Anybody who has actual experience can either post it up here in this topic, or contact Amos by PM if they’re willing to contribute to the documentary.

However, everybody will make up their own minds because the caveat is that it must be said that only the BBC has control of their content and the slant (if any) in which they present it.

dieseldave:
My personal reservation is that the BBC will have final editorial control over Amos’ documentary, or that he’s already been instructed as to the scope/extent of its content.
I sincerely hope that I’m very wrong about that…

DD, that was my point entirely. Regardless of who says what about whoever, the BBC will spin it for its own leftist bias. Its not exactly a big secret anymore is it?

bullitt:

dieseldave:
My personal reservation is that the BBC will have final editorial control over Amos’ documentary, or that he’s already been instructed as to the scope/extent of its content.
I sincerely hope that I’m very wrong about that…

DD, that was my point entirely. Regardless of who says what about whoever, the BBC will spin it for its own leftist bias. Its not exactly a big secret anymore is it?

Hi bullitt,

I REALLY REALLY want to be wrong about this, but Amos can tell us what’s what, which I’ll happily take on the chin!!

Taking it a little further, maybe Amos might come back here to discuss feedback after the documentary is shown?

After the replies, I think Amos OP will be the last we hear of him. On the open forum at least.

Well, if drivers with bad experiences of clandestines choose not to talk to the BBC, or anyone producing programmes for them, what will they report?
The guy has already asked for drivers who have actually experienced these attacks.
Prejudice? Preconceived ideas? No limits on culpability here is there?

Sent from my GT-S7275R using Tapatalk

Thanks for your response, bullitt. Firstly, I really wish I was in my early twenties and just out of Uni!

Fair enough, completely entitled to your opinion of the BBC but, in terms of going over there, we have been filming there for over a year. both in the camps and the port, so we have experienced what goes on (including the violence) firsthand. We aren’t just sitting in a cushy office making stuff up.

I agree with you that one of the aspects of this story is that drivers’ voices haven’t been heard, which is exactly want we are trying to do.

I feel like there isn’t much else I can say to convince you otherwise but we do genuinely want to hear from people.

Thanks dieseldave. We are an independent production company called Amos Pictures and you can see some of the films we have made here amospictures.co.uk/

Think your questions about law enforcement, fines and protection for drivers are all really interesting. We don’t just want to know about the physical threat to drivers but every aspect of what they go through.

bullitt:

dieseldave:
My personal reservation is that the BBC will have final editorial control over Amos’ documentary, or that he’s already been instructed as to the scope/extent of its content.
I sincerely hope that I’m very wrong about that…

DD, that was my point entirely. Regardless of who says what about whoever, the BBC will spin it for its own leftist bias. Its not exactly a big secret anymore is it?

The BBC have commissioned this film so they have a say, but the content is based on months and months of filming out there. We want to show a comprehensive picture of what is happening there and here from as many people involved as possible so the audience at home can draw their own conclusions.