Page 462 - Media Coverage Book - 75th Aldeburgh Festival 2024

latter. Gabe’s struggle to cope throws their adoption of Jake (Leo Harris) into doubt, giving rise

to a sense of futility and recklessness in Gabe. A musical sequence, set to Tears for Fears’ Mad

World, is spellbinding.

Dead Calm: Killing in the Med?

BBC2, 9pm

In 2023 some 750 people, including women and children, were crammed on to the fishing vessel

Adriana by people-smugglers for a trip between Libya and Italy. Four days later the captain was

lost. “People started to think about drinking engine cooling fluid . . . we had to drink it,” says
one passenger, Mohammed, but the worst was yet to come. More than 600 people died when the

Adriana capsized, and this stunning film, which speaks with survivors and investigative

journalists, unifies two troubling stories of border control. On land, sightings of masked men in

unmarked cars near landing spots aroused suspicion, while at sea the actions of the Greek

coastguard are called into question.

Catch-up TV, by Joe Clay

D-Day: The Unheard Tapes

BBC iPlayer

In this three-part series, one of the highlights of the coverage marking the 80th anniversary of D-

Day on June 6, young actors lip-sync to witness accounts from soldiers who experienced the
Normandy invasion and the bloody battle that followed — interwoven with a dramatic

recreation of events, featuring the same actors. Historians provide detailed analysis and context,

making this an informative as well as emotive series. The actors have been cast to resemble the

interviewees at the time of the war, and once you get used to the format, it’s a hugely effective

way of telling the story. This rare treasure trove of audio recordings brings together British,
American, German and French perspectives for the first time.

Film choice, by Kevin Maher

Limbo (12, 2020)

Film4, 11.05pm

Ben Sharrock’s Bafta-nominated drama tells the story of a Syrian musician called Omar (played

by the Egyptian actor Amir El-Masry, who is soon to take the lead in the biopic of the