BBC developing film about refugee delivery driver

Studio Deadbeat Films is producing a film for the BBC about a refugee working illegally as a delivery driver in Britain. The working title is Papers. The project draws from a 2023 short film called Matar.

That 20-minute film follows an asylum seeker living in a house in multiple occupation who is arrested during a police raid after failing to obtain legal papers. The short film was directed by a Syrian refugee and released in connection with the Refugee Action charity's Lift the Ban campaign. Its epilogue accused government officials of failing to support refugee rights.

Deadbeat Films has attended narrative-change workshops run by Counterpoint Productions. The charity has received £400,000 from Arts Council England over the past five years. A BBC spokesman said the broadcaster maintains full editorial control and follows impartiality guidelines on all films.

The spokesman added that consulting charities for research is standard industry practice. Last month the BBC faced criticism after two asylum seekers who appeared in the audience of Question Time in Dover on December 5 were coached by migration support charity staff beforehand.