NEW ON TV: ALJAZEERA ENGLISH DISSECTS GADDAFI'S DOWNFALL

Gaddafi: The End Game is a series of three documentaries about the Libyan revolution, premiering on Thursday 8 December 2011 on Al Jazeera English.

Produced and directed by Anne Reevell (Moonbeam Films) and executive produced by Oscar, Emmy and BAFTA winner Jon Blair, Gaddafi: The End Game follows a group of revolutionaries from exile in the UK all the way to Tripoli and tells the inside story of the fall of Gaddafi’s brutal regime from the lips of the insiders, defectors and military advisers who made it happen.

It¹s very rare that you get a ringside seat in history,” says Anne. “I was lucky enough to see a revolution through the eyes of a remarkable group of people.

The series kicks off with a two-part documentary, The Long Road to Tripoli, which tells the story of 30-year-old Ibrahim El-Mayet and his father Abduladim as they take a convoy of ambulances from the UK across Europe, through Tunisia, and into the Western Mountains of Libya, where they meet up with Abdelbasset Issa, a property developer from Croydon on the outskirts of London, whose group they help arm and train for the final assault on Tripoli. The film provides a unique insight into how Libya¹s ad-hoc army of committed amateurs toppled a dictatorship.

Anne also filmed behind-the-scenes with the political leadership in waiting in Tunisia and interviewed Dr Abdurrahim El-Keib, the man who has now become Libya¹s Prime Minister, on the night that he heard the news that Tripoli’s rebellion had begun.

Anne says, “When the February 17th uprising began, the Libyan diaspora struggled with what it meant for them and how they should react. Was it a false dawn? Was it safe to openly support it? How far should they go in helping? Was their help welcome? Was their exile about to end and at what cost? I was able to film with a small group of Libyans from the UK and got to know them well. Gradually, as the months passed, their determination that Gaddafi must go transformed them into revolutionaries. This film is the
story of that journey, its effect on them and their ideal of being part of building a new country. It tells the story of the revolution and of the people they meet on the way. It¹s a story of gathering momentum, change, courage and hope, which follows the main characters all the way to the newly liberated Martyrs Square in Tripoli.”

In the third episode, State of Denial, Anne had exclusive access to the key British and Libyan players who planned the war against Gaddafi in London and Libya.

The disintegration of the Gaddafi regime in Libya surprised and confused the world ­ not because it happened in the first place, but because Gaddafi’s government remained convinced it could prevail – despite defections, NATO airstrikes and a popular mass uprising,” says Anne.

Using the oral diary of a Tripoli-based insider in almost daily contact with Anne, as well as interviews with the UK prime minister¹s senior adviser on Libya and leading figures in Benghazi and Tripoli, State of Denial explores the demise of Gaddafi¹s power base and charts the twists and turns of a
regime in denial.

It examines the extent of cooperation between the Libyan military and the British even before February 17th’s rebellion, revealing that many of the defectors were, in effect, ³sleepers² waiting for their moment to come. Everyone looks at the pictures of Blair and Gaddafi embracing,” says Anne. “What they don¹t see are the handshakes between military advisers who later work together to bring down the regime.²

The Long Road to Tripoli (part one) screens on Al Jazeera English from 8
December 2011 at the following times GMT: Thursday, 20h00; Friday, 12h00;
Saturday, 01h00; Sunday, 06h00; Monday, 20h00; Tuesday, 12h00, Wednesday,
01h00; and Thursday 15 December 2011 at 06h00.

The Long Road to Tripoli (part two) screens on Al Jazeera English from 15
December 2011 at the following times GMT: Thursday, 20h00; Friday, 12h00;
Saturday, 01h00; Sunday, 06h00; Monday, 20h00; Tuesday, 12h00, Wednesday,
01h00; and Thursday 22 December 2011 at 06h00.

State of Denial screens on Al Jazeera English from 22 December 2011 at the
following times GMT: Thursday, 20h00; Friday, 12h00; Saturday, 01h00;
Sunday, 06h00; Monday, 20h00; Tuesday, 12h00, Wednesday, 01h00; and Thursday
29 December 2011 at 06h00.