Everything to know about Oscars-nominated Indian documentary, 'Writing with Fire'
The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences announced the nominations for the 94th Academy Awards on Tuesday. While Indians had their bets concentrated on Suriya-led social drama Jai Bhim, it ended up getting out of the race. The Indian film that remained in the countdown, however, was the documentary Writing with Fire, directed by Rintu Thomas and Sushmit Ghosh.
Which are the other contenders in documentary feature category?
On February 8 (Tuesday), Oscars nomination hosts Tracee Ellis Ross and Leslie Jordan announced Ascension, Attica, Flee, and Summer of Soul (...Or, When the Revolution Could Not Be Televised) are the nominees in the Documentary Feature category. When Writing with Fire was announced as the fifth nominee, Thomas shared the live reaction on Twitter, and the team was visibly giddy.
Check out the makers' live reaction to the nominations here
If this feature wins, it will be history
Ever since it was shortlisted by the Academy in December last year, hopes were high for the documentary that was about Khabar Lahariya, the Indian newspaper run by Dalit women. Now, if the film manages to score a win, it will become the first movie about India, directed by Indians, to do so, according to New York Times editorial board member, Farah Stockman.
Earlier, 'Writing with Fire' bagged two awards at Sundance
Writing with Fire has already bagged several nods in the film festival circuit, including two Sundance Film Awards. The documentary has also bagged features in prestigious festivals like Telluride Mountainfilm Festival, San Francisco Film Festival, and Yamagata International Documentary Film Festival, among others.
Know more about 'Khabar Lahariya'
Established in 2002 and based out of Bundelkhand, Khabar Lahariya is India's only newspaper run entirely by women. The journalists have had to face several hardships (blatant sexism, obstructions from the family and society). These deterrents are magnified because the founders are from the oppressed Dalit caste. The documentary also captures the paper's transition into digital format with some journalists learning to use smartphones.
Why directors chose 'Khabar Lahariya' for their documentary?
"Writing with Fire began with a simple photo that we saw online of a Dalit woman reporter from Khabar Lahariya in a sea of male onlookers," Thomas and Ghosh had told Deadline. "It was a powerful image that led to us asking ourselves: What is journalism? Who counts as newsworthy? Which stories should we be telling?" and thus, they began filming the documentary.
