Rintu Thomas and Sushmit Ghosh's award-winning documentary Writing With Fire will have its UK premiere this month. The film won the Audience Award and the Special Jury Award: Impact For Change at the Sundance Film Festival in February.
The makers have released a trailer, which revolves around the challenges faced by the female journalists of the rural news network, Khabar Lahariya, in India. These journalists belong to the lower castes and come from humble beginnings. But this does not stop them from pursuing the truth, fighting for justice and highlighting major issues that are overlooked by the mainstream media.
The trailer begins with the journalists coming to terms with the changing nature of their job, transitioning from print to smartphones, which they handle gingerly initially. As the camera follows them, we realize the unforgiving nature of their work, long hours, and the dangers it is fraught with. Yet, they press on their path with a certain resilience that is inspiring. The realism of the subject matter, the nature of their endeavours and the socio-political subtext make for a gripping watch.
The documentary was premiered at the Sundance Film Festival earlier this year to great acclaim. According to Variety.com, the film has been picked up by Autlook Filmsales for several territories, including the UK. Writing With Fire will have a UK premiere at Sundance London on 30 July, and a limited release across 35 UK Picturehouse and Bertha venues.
The website quoted Autlook Filmsales' managing director Salma Abdalla as saying, "The international market is embracing Writing With Fire. We already secured sales into over 20 territories. We can’t see wait to see the movie released broadly in 2022, in cinemas and on TV. Many buyers had told us that Writing With Fire is one of the most inspiring movies they have seen in 2021.”
In addition to Sundance, the film also won awards at international festivals in San Fransisco, Seattle, Kraków, and Washington among others.