Amazon Original feature documentary
Surviving The
Tunisia Beach Attack.
Directed + produced by Clare Sturges
“Each survivor who took part, showed such inspiring courage and honesty in their contribution to this film, which is a testament to their resilience and post-traumatic growth. It’s the culmination of a 10-year commitment from me to tell this story with care, sensitivity and creativity – which was only possible with Yeti, Sphere Abacus and Amazon.”
This is one of my favourite shots, captured unplanned, when the light in a stuffy corridor in our dupe hotel was in just the right position to illuminate dust motes and flare beautifully – we used this shot in one of the most affecting sequences in the film, to convey the surreal sense of existing outside of time, when survivors are hiding in an office room as the perpetrator approaches.
Directed + Produced by Clare Sturges
Executive Producer – Siân Price
Executive Producer for Amazon & SphereAbacus – Anna Sadowy
Editors – David Fairhead + Rich Gorman
Production company: Yeti Media
Network: Amazon Prime UK
International sales: Sphere Abacus
Reflections on 26 June 2025
This shot recreates a 1st person point of view, which was an important visual grammar to establish and repeat – helping audiences identify closely with the perspective and emotions of eyewitness survivors who experienced the attack first hand.
This still from the film shows the actual beach where the attack happened, as seen from a nearby overlooking hotel, shot through the balcony fence and partially obscured to imply the view of a concerned observer.
This is an impressionistic representation of the actual beach where the attack happened – it's designed to evoke a strong sense of place and mood through textural details of the sand and long afternoon light.
Eyewitnesses of the 2015 Tunisia beach attack reveal personal stories of terror and survival amid a holiday shooting that took the lives of 38 people.
Surviving The Tunisia Beach Attack is the definitive account of the 26 June 2015 Tunisia beach massacre, told through eyewitness testimony. The mass shooting, carried out by a lone gunman, lasted less than 40 minutes and claimed 38 lives. It remains the biggest loss of British life to terrorism since the London bombings of 2005.
Ten years on, survivors of the attack piece together a moment-by-moment account of what happened, from the fight or flight responses that saved their lives, to remarkable stories of courage and resilience in the face of devastating violence. They reflect on the life-changing impacts of the trauma and profound ways the tragedy has changed them.
The events of that day caused unimaginable heartbreak and loss. How each survivor rebuilds themselves reveals a life-affirming story of extraordinary strength, spirit and hope.
This still shows a dupe location doubling for the pool – we made extensive use of motion cinematography on location in Port El Kantaoui, to track the pathway of survivors and the perpetrator.
This is another of my favourites – using the grammar of foreground layering, diagonals, splashes of hard light and the texture of marble to create a considered, premium look, which belies the low budget we had available to make the film.
We developed a shadow technique to imply the presence of the perpetrator rather than directly 'showing’ him using traditional dramatic reconstruction.
Where archive footage like CCTV and cameraphone material was available, we used it sensitively and sparingly to help chart the factual timeline of events and convey the response of eyewitnesses as the attack progressed.
This is the beach where the attack happened on 26 June 2015, but not the exact spot – which I thikn doesn't compromise the film, whose purpose is to evoke the texture of the memories of survivors, now 10 years old, by illustrating their testimony impressionistically rather than, for example, in a reportage or current affairs style.
Help and support
If you, or someone you know, feels affected by these events, 24/7 support is available.
Call Victim Support free:
0808 168 9111
Live Chat
These stills from the film contextualise the incident within the locale, evoking the contrast between the luxury resort palm tree imagery and decline of surrounding buildings – our film focuses on a survivor-eyewitness account, rather than an investigative or 360o retelling of what happened on 26 June 2015, and is told exclusively in their words, so we worked hard on location to make sure contextual images of the Tunisian backdrop conveyed obvious disparities in wealth.
-
Surviving The Tunisia Beach Attack is a searing yet sensitive portrayal of the 2015 terrorist attack that claimed 38 lives in Port El Kantaoui, Tunisia.
The film was shaped through close collaboration with survivors, support organisations, and mental health professionals, over a 10-year period.
The result is a survivor-led narrative that, I hope, avoids sensationalism, opting for evocative cinematography and deeply personal testimony in place of graphic imagery or focus on the perpetrator.
Our guiding principle was always to ‘do no harm’. Comprehensive duty of care protocols were embedded throughout production.
As the director and producer of the film, I undertook specialist training in working with vulnerable contributors, and developed guidelines based on Ofcom, the Association of True Crime Producers, and the DART Center for Journalism and Trauma best practice. These applied equally to crew and contributors, with wellbeing check-ins and counselling support.
Ongoing support was offered to all participants via the terrorism charity The Peace Collective and, to support my wellbeing, I received counselling through Film In Mind. Duty of care adviser Dr Howard Fine helped shape a robust care and communications plan, which extended beyond release.
We adopted an ‘ongoing consent’ model, ensuring contributors could actively participate in decisions about how their stories were told. This included choice of interview location, advance access to questions, and private viewing sessions of their contributions – with the option to give feedback and make changes. Sessions were guided, recorded, and documented to ensure fairness.
All survivor testimonies were rigorously fact-checked. Archival visuals were treated with care, with personal identities protected. Amazon supported the inclusion of content warnings and support information at key moments, and Yeti produced a specially created trailer – free of gunshot audio – for social media where autoplay may trigger distress.
The wider survivor community helped shape the film through consultations on language, tone, and sensitivity. I sought out additional guidance on physical and digital safety from the Institute for Strategic Dialogue. Long-term aftercare support remains available for all contributors.
My hope is that Surviving the Tunisia Beach Attack stands as a deeply respectful, survivor-centred documentary – one that honours those affected while setting a new benchmark for trauma-informed filmmaking.
“Today marks the 10-year anniversary of the 2015 Tunisia beach attack, a day that remains deeply painful for so many.
Surviving The Tunisia Beach Attack was made to honour those who lost their lives, the families left behind, and the survivors who live with the impact every day. Their courage and honesty shaped this film.
As director, it’s a story I’ve carried for nearly a decade – a deeply personal commitment to ensure this atrocity was documented with care, sensitivity and truth. Getting this film financed and made took 10 years, but I never doubted its importance.
Documenting tragedy is never easy, but it matters: to remember, to understand, and to help society hold space for grief, resilience and healing.”