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Writing with Fire

8 10
2021
92min

Hindi

English

Country: India

Original Title: Writing with Fire

In India’s deeply patriarchal media landscape, a group of Dalit women journalists challenge power, tradition, and caste through fearless reporting. Armed with smartphones and determination, Chief Reporter Meera and her team transform their small local newspaper into a bold digital voice, covering some of the country’s most urgent stories while also confronting the inequalities within their own homes and communities.

Hindi
English
Country: India
Original Title: Writing with Fire

AWARDS
Academy Award nominee
World Cinema Documentary Special Jury Award: Impact for Change. Sundance Film Festival
Audience Award: World Cinema Documentary. Sundance Film Festival
McBaine Documentary Feature Award. SFFILM
Special Jury Prize in Documentary Competition. Seattle International Film Festival
Audience Award Best Documentary. Wisconsin Film Festival
Silver Horn for Film on Social Issues. Krakow Film Festival
Best Documentary. Molodist International Film Festival
Special Jury Mention for Best Documentary Feature. Mountain Film Festival
Justice Matters Award. Filmfest DC
Best Feature Documentary. BlackStar Film Festival
Audience Award for Best Feature Documentary. BlackStar Film Festival
Truth Dox Award. DokuFest
Maysles Brothers Documentary Award. Docs Ireland
Al Jazeera Balkans Programme Department Jury Award. AJB DOC Film Festival
Best International Feature Award. Visioni dal Mondo
Best Documentary. Indo German Film Week
Audience Award. Yamagata International Documentary Film Festival
Horizons Award. Le Grand Bivouac
Another World Is Possible Award. DocsMX
Documentary Award. Monde en Vues
Checkpoints Award. Bergen International Film Festival
Courage Under Fire Award. IDA Documentary Awards
Best Feature Length Documentary. Nordic Docs
Best Documentary Award. Films From The South
NPO Audience Award. IDFA
Grand Jury Documentary Award. Movies That Matter
Special Jury Prize. GZDOC Golden Kapok Awards
Audience Award International Competition. Millenium International Documentary Film Festival
Voices of Invisible Women Award. Terra di Tutti Film Festival
Documentary Award. Peabody Awards
Audience Award. Bajo Nuestra Piel International Human Rights Film Festival

OFFICIAL SELECTIONS
Sundance Film Festival
CPH:DOX
Krakow Film Festival
Cleveland International Film Festival
Hot Docs Canadian International Documentary Film Festival
Seattle International Film Festival
San Francisco International Film Festival
DOK.fest München

Journalism, courage, and resistance in India

Set against the rise of digital news and political polarization, Writing with Fire follows the women of Khabar Lahariya, India’s only news outlet led by Dalit women. Over several years, the film observes their transition from print journalism to mobile reporting, capturing both the daily realities of grassroots journalism and the personal cost of speaking truth to power.

Led by Meera, alongside reporters like Suneeta, these journalists travel into some of India’s most challenging regions to document violence, corruption, and injustice. What emerges is not only a portrait of a newsroom, but also a powerful story about gender, caste, ambition, and the fight to be heard.

Directed by Sushmit Ghosh and Rintu Thomas, Writing with Fire became the first Indian feature documentary nominated for the Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature. A double winner at Sundance, the film is both an inspiring celebration of journalism and a striking portrait of women redefining what power looks like.