Screening: Above Enemy Lines

Olly Lambert’s critically acclaimed film follows the men of the RAF’s 27 Squadron for the duration of their tour in southern Afghanistan in the Spring of 2007. For two months they fly missions in and out of the frontline, delivering troops and supplies, and evacuating the injured on emergency medevac missions, often under enemy fire.

The film focuses on the experiences of Dan Padbury, a newly qualified combat pilot who’s on his first tour as a captain. Through him we experience the reality of modern warfare:  a netherworld in which troops are cut off from the people and culture they are supposed to be fighting for, and where days of boredom are punctuated by searing adrenalin rushes.
 
His squadron commute to the frontlines from the safe haven of Kandahar airfield, a vast complex of runways, tents and luxury food outlets that are 30 minutes and a world away from the dirty work of the war.  As the main lifeline to British troops in the region, the 26 men are daily catapulted from this tedious haven to the bitter reality of life and death in a war zone, a reality that Dan is finally forced to confront.
 
Beautifully shot and featuring unprecedented cockpit footage, this is a moving and intimate account of real lives on the front line.

Praise for Above Enemy Lines

“The potential was high for a gung-ho piece of television, complete with pounding music and a narrator thrilled at the danger of it all. Instead, the result wisely took its lead from the men themselves.”   James Walton, Daily Telegraph

“This is a terrific observational film, from which we get a real idea of what life is really like for our boys out there [Afghanistan].”   Sam Wollaston, The Guardian

“Olly Lambert is one of the most talented documentary film-makers working in British television today”.   David Chater, The Times

Length: 50 mins