“all the hopes and fears about immigration are perfectly condensed in this documentary”   Sunday Times
“thoughtful report”  Daily Mail
“well-timed documentary”  Telegraph

The Invasion of Lampedusa charts how a crisis on a tiny island in the middle of the Mediterranean is changing the face of immigration in Europe. In the wake of the  ‘Arab Spring’ uprisings, the Italian island of Lampedusa, just 70 miles from the African coast has seen the arrival of over 40,000 migrants from Tunisia and Libya.

The film follows how, within weeks, Lampedusa’s small migrant reception centre is overflowing, and the island’s tourist economy faces meltdown. The islanders openly revolt, blockading the port and rioting in the streets. Local mayor, Bernadino de Rubeis makes desperate attempts to keep everyone calm, with limited results. Only the arrival of the beleaguered Prime Minister, Silvio Berlusconi seems to solve the problem, but his solutions are short-lived – weeks later, thousands more Libyans are arriving seeking asylum, prompting panic in Brussels, the closing of European borders and the possible collapse of the EU’s Schengen Agreement.

BBC (2011)

Director: Olly Lambert
Producer: Lottie Gammon
Editor: David G Hill
Executive Producer: Angus Macqueen