C4, PBS order Nutopia terrorist drama doc

Channel 4 and PBS have co-commissioned Terror in the Desert, a one-hour documentary about the terror attack on the In Amena gas facility earlier this year.

The UK and US public broadcasters have ordered the doc from Jane Root’s production firm Nutopia, which has brought on Bruce Goodison (Bin Laden: Shoot to Kill) to direct.

The programme makers will interview hostage survivors and include drama reconstructions of the key events.

The film will, Nutopia said, forensically examine the storming of the gas plant, which left a death toll of 37 foreign hostages from Britain, the US, France, Japan and Norway and the international response to the event.

BBC Worldwide has taken international rights and will sell Terror in the Desert internationally.

Jane Root said:“This is an extraordinary and tragic story which has been almost hidden from the world. We’re incredibly grateful that these brave men and women are going to collaborate with us to try and shine a light on what happened in the desert.”

Beth Hoppe, PBS chief programming executive and general manager, general audience programming added: “This documentary will portray a dramatic and important event in contemporary history from the perspectives those who lived it.”