We’re all products of the internet age; a world of post-truth, riddled with infinite information but limited perspectives. An insidious combination of monolithic algorithms and the few white men that dictate what content gets pushed onto the 6x6 screen in front of us means that there is only so much we can know about diverse perspectives. This is exactly where the world of documentaries fits in. It opens up in-depth information and offers us a view of the world from a distinct lens. They are the perfect way to create dialogue and often offer a critical lens into the world we live in.
Perhaps one of the most compelling Homegrown documentaries in recent times has been Writing With Fire, directed and produced by Rintu Thomas and Sushmit Ghosh. The 93-minute film delves into the cluttered news landscape dominated by men. Where armed with smartphones, Chief Reporter Meera and her journalists emerge as India’s only Bahujan women-run newspaper – Khabar Lahariya. As they break traditions, be it on the frontlines of India’s biggest issues or within the confines of their homes, they redefine what it means to be powerful.
As Time wrote, “Writing With Fire isn’t an ordinary social justice film.” The documentary is an honest exploration of how marginalisation works in the context of what dominates our news cycles and what it then means to have voices from the oppressed communities take charge of narratives.
Among the many accolades the film has garnered, it won the Audience Award as well as the Special Jury Award in Impact For Change at the Sundance Film Festival and the Best Documentary at Al Jazeera Documentary Festival.
Most recently the film has been nominated at the Oscars in the Best Documentary category. From its Sundance premiere, where it bagged two wins to now being an Academy-shortlisted documentary, the documentary has been able to achieve what no other Indian documentary has done so far; making history as India’s first-ever documentary feature to make it to the Oscars.
You can find out more about the film here.
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