Netflix launches new documentary about the Grenfell Tower tragedy

The 100-minute feature film delves into the events that led to the harrowing fire which claimed the lives of 72 individuals.

It’s been eight years since the horrific fire broke out in Grenfell Tower, a disaster that killed 72 people and left 70 injured. To mark the event, today (Friday 20^th June) Netflix have launched a new documentary titled ‘Grenfell: Uncovered’.

The true-to-life feature film was directed by Olaide Sadiq and is comprised of chilling interviews with survivors and their families, as well as an in-depth investigation into the dozens of shortcomings in both the public and private sectors that contributed to the fire, which broke out on 14^th June 2017.

At the heart of the universal story is classism – the prioritisation of profit over public safety and the lack of accountability from the decision-makers involved. To give an example of the latter, Theresa May, the prime minister at the time, features in the documentary where she explains that her initial response to the tragedy is something she will ‘always regret’. Soon after the fire had happened May did not initially meet with survivors and former residents of Grenfell, which made it look as though she did not care for their plight.

On the subject of neglect, the documentary wouldn’t be complete without mentioning the key cause of the fire: poor materials. The tragedy initially broke out as a result of an electrical fault in a fridge in one of the flats but spread so rapidly because the building had been constructed with combustible cladding.  

Against this backdrop, an inquiry was launched into the cause of the fire which revealed Arconic, Celotex and Kingspan – the organisations who supplied the cladding for Grenfell Tower – allowed for the material to be used despite tests proving it ‘burned violently’. To this day, the companies are still denying all wrongdoing.

Though the Grenfell devastation cannot be undone, the documentary demands immediate measures be taken to ensure nothing like it ever happens again.

Meanwhile, the UK government have confirmed that by 2029 every building over 11 metres tall with unsafe cladding will have been addressed. This means buildings will have been renovated or have a completion date for remedial works.

News of the documentary comes just one week after Londoners gathered in North Kensington to commemorate the lives of the 72 people who died in the fire and say their final goodbyes to the tower block, ahead of its gentle dismantlement in two months’ time.

Feature image courtesy of Netflix. 

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