ukraine celebrates its first christmas on the 25th of december in a further shift from russia. the country had previously used thejulian calendar, also used in russia, with christmas falling on 7th january. president zelensky changed the law back injuly to, as he said, "abandon russian heritage". danish shipping giant maersk says it's preparing to resume operations in the red sea and gulf of aden. the announcement comes as a us—led international military operation was deployed to prevent the targeting of commercial ships from areas of yemen controlled by houthi rebels. now on bbc news talking movies: gurinder chadha special.

i come here, mainly walk the dog in the morning and in the afternoon. and then also, it's a great place to just clear your thoughts. i've come to london to meet gurinder chadha, a pioneering figure in the film industry, the first british asian woman to direct mainstream features in the uk. films that have won major awards and become international hits in the movies, some eight feature films in all, from her best known, bend it like beckham... no—one can cross a ball or bend it like beckham. ..to her more recent musical comedy drama blinded by the light... car horn beeps. stay away from the girls! ..she has brought the screen to life with authentic stories, using appealing actors, music... # she's a lady... ..and humour... they laugh. ..to portray british asian life. they speak punjabi. the asian experience in the uk has

long been herfocus. born in nairobi, gurinder chadha came to the uk as a young child and grew up in southall, in west london, home to a big asian community. i'm always in southall. still got the best kebabs anywhere in london. and i've got relatives there. and, of course, the sikh temples are there. and i do... you know, it's where i grew up, really. it's where all my films are shot. she began her career as a broadcastjournalist. in 1989, she made the first of several documentaries called i'm british but... it showed the new generation of young asians in the uk. i see myself as british, maybe. well, welsh, isuppose. i've always wanted to meet gurinder chadha. her movies have made me laugh and cry. as a person, she isjust like herfilms — warm, open, funny, optimistic and generous. she invited me into her london home, and we spent the better part of a day delving into herfilms and discussing what makes her tick as a film—maker. music: move on up by

curtis mayfield hello, hello, and welcome to talking movies. i'm tom brook. today, i'm in london, in soho, still, to some extent, the heart of the uk film and tv industry, to bring you an interview with british asian film—maker gurinder chadha. too often in the past, her accomplishments have been unsung, but she's been a majorforce in modern british cinema. in fact, she's the most prolific female film—maker in the uk today. this year marks the 20th anniversary of bend it like beckham, her most successful film. it became a real international hit, and it has the distinction of being the only western—made film ever to be shown on north korean television. i'm joining a girls�* team. huh?! bend it like beckham is the story ofjess, an 18—year—old played by parminder nagra from a traditional punjabi family... she speaks punjabi. aloo gobi! ..who wants to play football, much to the dismay of her parents.

that's it. no more football! i want you to learn full punjabi dinner. meat and vegetarian. but, dad! jules, portrayed by keira knightley... hi. ..plays for a local women's amateur football team, and takes note ofjess�* talent, and befriends her. you should come along. have a trial. a trial?! do you think i'm good enough? as this upbeat comedy progresses, it deals with a host of issues. indian girls aren't supposed to play football. some connected to race, prejudice, class, gender and sexuality. i'm a lesbian! it's not that big a deal. oh, no! in many ways, it was a film ahead of its time. this is taking me away from everything they know. bend it like beckham is also the highest grossing football film in history. they cheer. cut. gurinder, welcome to talking movies. i don't have to tell you, it is the 20th anniversary of bend it like beckham, and people do view that movie that you made as really being a landmark picture. why do you think that is?

i mean, what do people say to you about it? well, people are just very effusive, full of affection for it, because it meant a lot of things to a lot of people for a lot of different reasons. my mum's never wanted me to play. ijust can't take no for an answer. it's a sort of female empowerment movie. it has a gay element. i haven't told anyone. you're indian. it's about race. this isjess. it's about being part of a diaspora. jess?! is that...|ndian? it's reallyjesminder, but only my mum calls me that. on lots of levels, i think it appealed to people, and particularly to diasporas around the world. you know how hard it is i for our children over here. in addition to that, it came outjust after 9/11. and i think the world was sort of in freefall. you know, people were sort of worried about how were people going to live together and be together? and then this sort of innocent film comes along, inviting you into the home of a sort of british sikh family,

you know, and you realise, you know, after a few laughs, that actually they're very similar to your own family. do you really want to be the one that everyone stares at, at every family do because you married the english bloke? and it's not a sort of hitting you on the head movie. it's a very subversive movie about racism and tolerance. i never complained. and the effects of racism on one generation. on the contrary, i vowed that i will never play again. - and how a different generation has to accept that, acknowledge that, but then find their own way. and if i can't tell you what i want now, then i'll never be happy, whatever i do. there's not a lot of films that do that. we were definitely not doing that at the time. and i think it was a breath of fresh air. if all the relatives can look like they're acting and natural, not smiling at the camera, we'll be all right. and what for you was the spark that really got bend it like beckham

going as a narrative in your mind? what happened was, in britain, football, or soccer, you know, it was very much a male domain. it was very aggressive. it was associated with the right—wing in terms of the national front and the use of the union jack. you know, the british flag was sort of synonymous with the right. there was always football hooliganism, as we called it, always fights on the terraces. and then ian wright, one of our black players, after an england match, ran onto the pitch with a union jack. and that was such an arresting image for me. i mean, in that one moment, things changed for me and i saw a different britain on the tv. and i wanted to run with that. i wanted to run with a different britain, with my britain. it's time for my britain to come to be seen.

although it is about football and soccer, it's really more about the sort of social changes at the time. and not only that, there was this real idea of girl power at the time with the spice girls, and female empowerment was coming up. and i also wanted to be part of that. music: independence day by mel c you know, you have been you know, you have been able to move forward in your career by being very determined and being very feisty. where does that come from? when i was about 16 at school, i had wanted to go to university, and i actually wanted to study what we called development economics and geography at the time, because geography was my favourite subject. and i went to the careers office and said, "this is what "i want to do. i want to go to university." and she looked at me and said, "hmm.

don't you think you should apply to secretarial college?" and i was like, "why would i want to be a secretary?" and she said, "the world needs good secretaries." and ijust... i just... in that moment with that careers teacher, ijust thought, "you don't know me. "you don't get me. "and how dare you?" i couldn't say any of that, and i didn't know how to articulate any of that. but that was the fire in me that said, "you have no expectation of me and my ambition and what i want, "and i'm going to show you." and i think that was it. from that moment, i've never taken no for an answer, and i keep pushing, and i still push. you know, i could have a much easier life if i just went to america and directed the scripts that i get sent, you know? but i keep pushing the envelope to... ..represent, you know, represent people that look like me and represent ideas and values from,

you know, a perspective that is different. do you want a clean—shaven boy like your sister? proper sikh with a full beard and a turban. after that comment, right, you basically give your filthy look to the camera, and then just walk back. what does it say about the film industry when you look at bend it like beckham, that keira knightley went on to become a breakout star... jess? ..but the other lead in the film, parminder nagra, didn't? well, i think it says everything you need to know about our industry. you know, keira was bankable, sojerry bruckheimer cast her in the pirates of the caribbean series. pirate or not, this man saved my life. parminder did get offers. john wells contacted me and asked me about her as a possible doctor in er, you know, so she immediately got the la break and joined the cast of er. so she had success, too.

but it's a shame that hollywood did not acknowledge that she could be a leading lady in the same way. and that is because asian leads are not seen as bankable. still to this day, i think that's true. what did he say, dad? don't play with your future, putar. did you feel that with bend it like beckham, your father and your relationship with your father were somehow manifest in the film? that is, you know, probably the core of the film. and if you're going to cry watching that film, you'll cry because of that. play well and make us proud. i had just lost my father, just before making the film, and now when i look back at the film, it's so emotional and it's made by somebody who's grieving. it is a film made in grief, you know, and i know that from my own... the way i've made films since. so he just looks and then he goes... what i was exploring was exactly the pain that my father's

generation had been through, in orderfor me to be standing there at that moment shooting a movie. she will only end up i disappointed like me. when my dad first came to britain, he had worked for barclays bank in kenya, and when he came to england in the �*60s, with a turban and a beard, he had said, "you know, i'm going to go to barclays." and he went to the barclays bank in southall, and they absolutely laughed their heads off when he went in, and said, "do you honestly think "we're ever going to have someone who looks like you, with a beard and a turban, work in our bank?" and they literally threw him out of the bank, and then he ended up cutting his hair and became a postman. when i was a teenager in nairobi, i was the best fast _ bowler in our school. and i took that story and made it about the east african cricket club in the movie. but when i came to this country, nothing. - i was not allowed to play in any of the teams. - and these clubhousesl made fun of my turban

and sent me off packing. but that is the true story of what happened with my dad. and therefore, at the very end, when finally she says, "i've got this opportunity, i want to go," and the dad makes his big speech... who suffered? me. you know, i can't hold you back. that was my time. and i'm the one who suffered because i lived in fear. i don't want her to make i the same mistakes that her father made, of accepting life, accepting situations. | it's wrong for me to put that fear on you, and you have to go out and make your own life and follow your own opportunities. i want her to fight. and that's hugely emotional because that's about healing... i want her to win. ..racism, and that's about healing prejudice. because i've seen her playing. she's. .. she's brilliant. you can't stop your life if you live in an unfair world. you have to keep pushing forward. i don't think anybody has| the right of stopping her. you push forward, not only for yourself,

but for everybody else. and that is why bend it like beckham is such an important film, because it takes me and my community and my world and my britishness and my asian—ness and everything into a massive sphere that has changed and influenced and been important to so many people around the world. over her 30—year career, she's been a real powerhouse, making shorts, documentaries, tv programmes and tv series and, of course, memorable, vibrant feature films from bride and prejudice, a bollywood—style version of jane austen's pride and prejudice... only you could say that you love me and insult me at the same time. ..to herfirst feature, bhaji on the beach, in 1993. so what if she's pregnant. so what if the father's black? 0h! black?!

which, with all its great characters, i really loved. have a female fun time. they cheer. it followed three generations of asian women on a day trip to blackpool. was that a bit intimidating at first? you didn't have much experience as a feature film director, did you? everybody, i don't care who they are, will tell you their first film is a complete baptism by fire. you know, it's a...nightmare. my films are always from bhaji on. you know, i'm always thinking about the community and moving the community forward, while at the same time, you know, i still have to protect my community. and so i'm always trying to include things for them and us, them and us, them and us, you know? and all this comes about from being one of the few asian women making films in britain today, that i'm able to show these nuances and these cultural moments that are washed... you know, go over a lot

of people's heads. but they are of tremendous value to me, and they're not necessarily considered by a lot of other people, because they don't know. maybe in years to come, who knows? but at the moment, you know, while i'm working, ifind that people don't always value what i do. and ultimately, i guess i'm aiming towards changing our world into one of being more tolerant and more understanding and more inclusive and more appreciative of the massive contribution of people who look and talk and feel different to you. it's interesting you mention that, because your films do deal with racism and prejudice, and during the time in which you've been making films, those problems haven't gone away. and people would say in some respects, they've got worse. so is there a limit, do you think, to what cinema can achieve in terms

of changing people's minds? well, i also talk about gender and homosexuality and female empowerment, you know. i mean, it's everything. and i think that things have changed. i think they are changing. during the shot, i'm panning down on one camera. i mean, the success of my film, the fact that everyone�*s talking about it 20 years later, is a massive indication of how things are changing. there's still an awfully long way to go, but i am now seeing lots of credits of women and women of colour on screen, and whilst there's always room for improvement, i think it's important to acknowledge that, you know, we can make a change, and we have made a change. how wedded are you to being part of british cinema? i mean, early in your career, did you feel the pull of america to take you to a new land where there would be perhaps bigger opportunities? when i had success in america with bhaji on the beach,

i did get offered quite a lot of american movies, but at that time, i didn't quite know how to relate to them. and i had met paul by then. your husband. i met paul, my husband, by then, yes. and then i decided, "well, if they want me to make a film "in america, why don't i make my own film?" and with paul, we wrote our movie, which was a very british film about los angeles. no—one knows it's me that's made it. it's on every year on tv. it's about four families in los angeles who celebrate thanksgiving over the weekend. she's the mommy, she's the daddy. and i'm the alcoholic, cult—worshipping, satanic stepmother. we're playing thanksgiving. but the idea was that i wanted to make a film about los angeles that i was seeing around me. not the one that was on the big screen. the rest will cook itself. for me, going to la, i was just blown away by all the different communities there. why do you want to make the turkey

taste like everything else we eat? and not really seeing them on screen. and hence, i kind of took my values from britain to la and made what's cooking? they scream. moving on to a more sobering reality. i mean, how did the pandemic affect you as a film—maker, as a storyteller? do you think it's changed you? the pandemic for me was a game changer, because it made me sit back and really think about... ..what is my purpose and why do i want to make films? and you better believe that whatever film you choose to make, it should have some impact. mum, stop filming me! you always film me! before, i was quite sort of... i used to push myself a lot, and i think, post—lockdown, i sort of calmed down and i stopped being quite so driven, if you like. ijust said, "look..."

ijust accepted, actually, a lot more. you know, what's going to happen is going to happen. cheering. and i think that was the lesson of lockdown, really, because we weren't really in control. and so the lesson was to let go and let go of the stress of trying to compete or get your projects made to the point where you get really stressed, and just accept that things will happen the way they're going to happen. when you think about your work nowadays, are you just as enthusiastic about making a film as you were when you did bend it like beckham 20 years ago? i haven't changed. i mean, i'm still incredibly motivated to... ..push that envelope. you know, that's how i see it. i'm very keen to get back in the director's chair. because i miss it. it's a balance to keep trying to shift people's perceptions and to make people understand

the vagaries of culture and understand the damage that racism and prejudice do. so, for me, and also female empowerment, you know, we're still not out of the woods on that, you know? so i'm still sort of very keen to make sure that my films have great female roles and that i show the world from my perspective, because it's still, sadly, a very underrepresented world. when you think back on your life and your career, what are you most proud of? i think what i'm most proud of is the fact that i've made a difference to people's lives, whether it's a very small thing with someone... ..just appreciating it personally or on a bigger level. will you ever retire, do you think? i mean, i hope that i get carried off set, you know, keeled over,

you know, going, "cut!" you know? "do it again!" or something. you know, i don't plan to retire. i don't think you can when you're creative, you never retire. the fact that people still talk about my work as being relevant, even though it's made a generation ago, you know, is gratifying, because it means that i did move the dial a little bit. i moved that needle. i did make a change, and i can't stop. i have to keep going because that needle might have just gone like that. i need to get it over here. well, look, thank you very much indeed for talking to talking movies. thank you, tom. music: nessun dorma by luciano pavarotti he shouts, whistle blows.

hello, wind, rain and very mild conditions, that has been the story so far. on christmas eve temperatures exceeded 15 celsius, and a record may have been broken but that is still to be verified by the met office. here is that

especially in the south. through the course of the night we will look at further damp weather in southern parts of the country, quite breezy as well. the worst of the gales will have cleared from the north and it will be a bit colder, so temperatures near freezing will be a bit colder, so temperatures nearfreezing in the highlands. but still double figures in the south. it is a mild start to christmas day and to sum up it is overall going to be a cloudy, wet and cosy sort of day for most of us. if there is any chance of a white christmas on christmas day it is in the north highlands, perhaps even in braemar some flakes of snow. by the time you get to glasgow and edinburgh it is a degrees and showers of rain. sunny spells and showers of rain. sunny spells and showers for belfast, rather overcast in yorkshire, rain heavy at times across the welsh hills and into the midlands and along the south and into east anglia, cloudy and rainy. if you want some dry weather on christmas day you may have to wait a

while before that weather front clears away and then we will see clears away and then we will see clear skies developing. again it is going to be relatively mild. on tuesday, boxing day, it is the best chance of getting some sunshine. in fact, it is looking quite promising if you want to go for a stroll. still breezy and chilly in the north, but beautiful weather in belfast and across yorkshire. if you want to dry weather, do it early, the walk, because the rain is approaching. that is a precursor of what is to come during the week. a big blow is approaching us on wednesday and that spells heavy rain and gales once again. look at all of that rain sweeping across the country. that snow is initially across the pennines and the southern uplands and through the mountains of scotland, across the higher levels it could be ten or 15 centimetres. to the south it is the rain and particularly heavy across wales. 15

to 19 millimetres of rain and severe gales in the south—west and along the channel coast as well. that is wednesday and that bad weather will probably last into thursday. many of us will be travelling again, so check the forecast. snow across the pennines on higher levels and also in scotland and then the gale force winds which could peek into thursday as this low rushes across. in the southern half of the uk you often see that squeeze in the isobars. then we have got that rash of showers. a really turbulent day to come on thursday. and the temperatures are still on the mild side, still double figures in the south, colder in scotland, it may be 4 degrees in aberdeen. let's have a look at the outlook because this takes us into 2024, so the 1st of january, which is monday. a real mixed bag. rain and windy weather,

with quieter moments as well, but again back to wind and rain towards new year's eve. goodbye.

live from london, this is bbc news. israel's army says it's reviewing reports of an air strike, after gaza's hamas—run health ministry said at least 70 people were killed in a blast targeting the maghazi refugee camp. for the first time in a hundred years, ukraine celebrates christmas today, in a further shift from russia. king charles and queen camila have arrived in sandringham ahead of the king's speech

later to the nation. hello. at least 70 people have been killed by an air strike in the al—maghazi refugee camp in gaza, according to the hamas—run health ministry. body bags have been piled outside the al—aqsa hospital, where many of the victims were taken. israel says it is investigating the incident. it comes amid scaled back christmas celebrations in bethlehem and across the occupied west bank. let's take a look at some live pictures this morning. this is the scene in israel border with lebanon. our correspondentjoe inwood has been monitoring the latest developments. for the people of gaza, there is no respite.

this was once a residential block — reduced to rubble.