WRITING WITH FIRE – Galaxy Cinemas

Galaxy Cinemas Barrie, 72 Commerce Park Dr, Barrie, ON L4N 8W8
Tickets are $8 Senior/Student and $10 Adult, plus service fees.

Directed By: Rintu Thomas and Sushmit Ghosh
Documentary, Not Rated, 93 min., Hindi with English Subtitles (India)

CLICK HERE to view the trailer.

“Insightful and inspirational…the film’s sense of intimacy and immediacy makes the viewer feel like they’re on a ride-along with the journalists…the filmmakers illuminate the change that can happen when the most marginalized members of a society empower themselves…” – Inkoo Kang, The Hollywood Reporter

Reporting from a social environment built to divide based on caste and gender, a fearless group of journalists maintain India’s only women-led news outlet. The women of Khabar Lahariya (‘Waves of News’), all from the Dalit (“untouchables”) caste, prepare to transition the newspaper from print to digital even though many of their reporters don’t have access to electricity at home. Armed with smartphones, Chief Reporter Meera and her team of investigative journalists confront some of India’s biggest issues – exposing the relentless discrimination against women and amplifying the voices of those who suffer from the oppressive caste system. WRITING WITH FIRE chronicles the astonishing determination of these local reporters as they empower each other and hold those responsible for injustice to account. Reaching new audiences through their growing platform, the women of Khabar Lahariya redefine what it means to be powerful in this timely and inspiring documentary.

Awards: 25 wins, 18 nominations
Nominated – Best Documentary Feature, Academy Awards, 2022
Nominated – Audience Award, Top 5 Audience Award, Hot Docs Canadian International Documentary Festival, 2021
Winner – IDFA Audience Award, IDFA, 2021
Winner – Golden Gate Award, Best Documentary Film, San Francisco Film Festival, 2021
Winner – Special Jury Prize, Documentary Competition, Seattle International Film Festival, 2021
Winner – Audience Award, World Cinema Documentary, Sundance Film Festival, 2021
Winner – Special Jury Award: Impact for Change, World Cinema Documentary, Sundance Film Festival, 2021
Winner – Special Jury Prize, Best Documentary Feature, Telluride Mountainfilm Festival, 2021
Winner – Best Feature Documentary, Nordic Docs, 2021
Winner – Best Documentary, Oslo Films from the South Festival, 2021
Winner – Silver Horn, Best Film on Social Issues, Krakow Film Festival, 2021
Winner – Justice Matters Award, Best Documentary, Washington DC International Film Festival
Winner – Audience Award, Best Documentary Feature, Wisconsin Film Festival, 2021
Winner – Maysles Brothers Award, Feature Documentary, Belfast Film Festival, 2021
Winner – Checkpoints Award, Bergen International Film Festival, 2021
Winner – Audience Award and Best Feature Documentary, Blackstar Film Festival, 2021
Winner – Cinema Eye Honors Awards, 2022
Nominated – F:ACT Award, CPH:DOX, 2021
Winner – Citizens’ Prize, Yamagata International Documentary Film Festival, 2021

Funded by: City of Barrie, Ontario Trillium Foundation and Telefilm Canada

Sponsored by: Busch Systems, Digital Giants, Lehman & Associates, Netgain, Plumbtech Plumbing Inc., Sigma Engagement Systems, and Venable Park Investment Council Inc.