Far from the bright lights of Bollywood, the indomitable Indian documentary filmmaking industry has been making waves globally.
The recent past has several examples of India’s international success. In 2021, Payal Kapadia’s “A Night of Knowing Nothing” won the Cannes documentary award, while Rintu Thomas and Sushmit Ghosh’s “Writing With Fire” won Sundance and was Oscar nominated. In 2022, Kartiki Gonsalves’ “The Elephant Whisperers” won the documentary short Oscar; Shaunak Sen’s “All That Breathes” won both the Sundance and Cannes documentary awards and scored an Oscar nomination, in addition to a plethora of other wins; and Vinay Shukla’s “While We Watched” won awards at Toronto and Busan.
In 2023, Sarvnik Kaur’s “Against the Tide” won a special jury award at Sundance and in 2024, Park City continued to be a happy hunting ground for India with a win for Anirban Dutta and Anupama Srinivasan’s “Nocturnes.” 2024 has continued to bring cheer for India,...
The recent past has several examples of India’s international success. In 2021, Payal Kapadia’s “A Night of Knowing Nothing” won the Cannes documentary award, while Rintu Thomas and Sushmit Ghosh’s “Writing With Fire” won Sundance and was Oscar nominated. In 2022, Kartiki Gonsalves’ “The Elephant Whisperers” won the documentary short Oscar; Shaunak Sen’s “All That Breathes” won both the Sundance and Cannes documentary awards and scored an Oscar nomination, in addition to a plethora of other wins; and Vinay Shukla’s “While We Watched” won awards at Toronto and Busan.
In 2023, Sarvnik Kaur’s “Against the Tide” won a special jury award at Sundance and in 2024, Park City continued to be a happy hunting ground for India with a win for Anirban Dutta and Anupama Srinivasan’s “Nocturnes.” 2024 has continued to bring cheer for India,...
- 6/15/2024
- by Naman Ramachandran
- Variety Film + TV
The importance of this documentary becomes evident from the way it raised the funds for its production. As the makers of the film had a goal of $20.000, they decided to “plea” through their film site for financial support, in order to conclude it. The result was staggering, since 782 contributors (who are thanked in the beginning of the film) donated $120,000 at the end of the campaign, making it the largest crowd funding campaign of its kind in India, hosted by the filmmakers on their own platform.
“An Insignificant Man“ screened at the Indian Film Festival of Los Angeles
The documentary revolves around Arvind Kejriwal, and the rise of anti-corruption protests in India that led him to form the Aam Aadmi Party (Common Man’s Party), with the help of Yogendra Yadav, an academic of politics. The documentary captures the day-to-day functioning of the Party, between December 2012 and December 2013, ending with the New Delhi elections.
“An Insignificant Man“ screened at the Indian Film Festival of Los Angeles
The documentary revolves around Arvind Kejriwal, and the rise of anti-corruption protests in India that led him to form the Aam Aadmi Party (Common Man’s Party), with the help of Yogendra Yadav, an academic of politics. The documentary captures the day-to-day functioning of the Party, between December 2012 and December 2013, ending with the New Delhi elections.
- 4/28/2019
- by Panos Kotzathanasis
- AsianMoviePulse
Nihalani banned Lipstick Under My Burkha earlier this year.
Prasoon Joshi has been appointed as the head of India’s Central Board of Film Certification, replacing Pahlaj Nihalani.
Since his appointment in 2015, Nihalani has been involved in many controversial decisions, including the banning of Indian drama Lipstick Under My Burkha, and his objection to the word “intercourse” in Imtiaz Ali’s Jab Harry Met Sejal, starring Shah Rukh Khan.
The censor board ruled that Lipstick Under My Burkha was too “lady oriented” and contained abusive words and audio pornography. However, the filmmakers appealed and the board’s ruling was overturned, enabling the film to be released with some voluntary cuts.
Nihalani also said the word “intercourse” could be reinstated in Jab Harry Met Sejal if 100,000 people voted to keep it in. When the resulting petition sailed past that number of signatures in a short period of time, he started adding conditions about the age and marital status...
Prasoon Joshi has been appointed as the head of India’s Central Board of Film Certification, replacing Pahlaj Nihalani.
Since his appointment in 2015, Nihalani has been involved in many controversial decisions, including the banning of Indian drama Lipstick Under My Burkha, and his objection to the word “intercourse” in Imtiaz Ali’s Jab Harry Met Sejal, starring Shah Rukh Khan.
The censor board ruled that Lipstick Under My Burkha was too “lady oriented” and contained abusive words and audio pornography. However, the filmmakers appealed and the board’s ruling was overturned, enabling the film to be released with some voluntary cuts.
Nihalani also said the word “intercourse” could be reinstated in Jab Harry Met Sejal if 100,000 people voted to keep it in. When the resulting petition sailed past that number of signatures in a short period of time, he started adding conditions about the age and marital status...
- 8/14/2017
- by lizshackleton@gmail.com (Liz Shackleton)
- ScreenDaily
I met with documentary filmmaker Vinay Shukla, on Saturday, June 17, 2017, at AFI Docs 2017, to discuss his feature debut, An Insignificant Man (which I also reviewed), co-directed by Khushboo Ranka (she did not attend the festival). The movie tells the story of Arvind Kejriwal, a populist politician in New Delhi, India, who rose […]...
- 7/7/2017
- by Christopher Llewellyn Reed
- Hammer to Nail
The Indian political documentary “An Insignificant Man” has played at more than 30 film festivals all over the world since premiering at last year’s Toronto International Film Festival. But in India — the one country where the documentary is bound to have its strongest impact — censors are doing their best to prevent the film from being seen.
Read More: ‘Wonder Woman’ Lebanon Ban Is the Latest Chapter in a Long History of Censorship
India’s Central Board of Film Certification (Cbfc), the country’s national censor board, has refused to grant co-directors Khushboo Ranka and Vinay Shukla an exhibition certificate, a crucial document needed for every theatrical release in India, until the filmmakers get written permission from the politicians featured in the documentary — including the country’s Prime Minister, Narendra Modi.
Last week, Ranka and Shukla’s lawyer informed them that the censor board hasn’t set a hearing date for their appeal of the decision.
Read More: ‘Wonder Woman’ Lebanon Ban Is the Latest Chapter in a Long History of Censorship
India’s Central Board of Film Certification (Cbfc), the country’s national censor board, has refused to grant co-directors Khushboo Ranka and Vinay Shukla an exhibition certificate, a crucial document needed for every theatrical release in India, until the filmmakers get written permission from the politicians featured in the documentary — including the country’s Prime Minister, Narendra Modi.
Last week, Ranka and Shukla’s lawyer informed them that the censor board hasn’t set a hearing date for their appeal of the decision.
- 7/6/2017
- by Graham Winfrey
- Indiewire
By Radhika Bhirani
Whether it's a film documenting Arvind Kejriwal's journey from "aam aadmi" to controversial politician or a movie on former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh -- the Indian film censor body now wants NOCs from top politicians for clearing movies based on real life figures, much to the dismay of filmmakers. The young and spirited filmmakers behind An Insignificant Man -- a movie that documents Kejriwal's journey -- have realised the futility of making a political film in India, thanks to the "outrageous diktats" of the censor board.
Whether it's a film documenting Arvind Kejriwal's journey from "aam aadmi" to controversial politician or a movie on former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh -- the Indian film censor body now wants NOCs from top politicians for clearing movies based on real life figures, much to the dismay of filmmakers. The young and spirited filmmakers behind An Insignificant Man -- a movie that documents Kejriwal's journey -- have realised the futility of making a political film in India, thanks to the "outrageous diktats" of the censor board.
- 6/8/2017
- by TNM NEWS
- The News Minute
A populist outsider with a drain-the-swamp agenda mounts a bold challenge to entrenched political elites in An Insignificant Man, making some powerful enemies in the process. The maverick Indian politician Arvind Kejriwal may have cosmetic parallels with Donald Trump, but his principles are much more at the Bernie Sanders end of the spectrum. Indeed, the debutant directing duo behind this imperfect but sporadically gripping documentary portrait, Khushboo Ranka and Vinay Shukla, are keen to portray Kejriwal as an Indian version of Sanders.
A solid festival presence in recent months, An Insignificant Man is currently generating headlines at home after India’s...
A solid festival presence in recent months, An Insignificant Man is currently generating headlines at home after India’s...
- 6/5/2017
- by Stephen Dalton
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
It’s over but it opened L.A.’s newest spring season of unlimited international film screenings all over the city throughout the month of April and into Cannes.
The 15th annual Indian Film Festival of Los Angeles (Iffla) opened with “Lipstick Under My Burkha” and its impressive ensemble cast of Konkona Sen Sharma, Ratna Pathak, Aahana Kumra and Plabita Borthakur in a dramatic, but irreverent and vibrant film about women and faith. The film premiered at the Tokyo Film Festival 2016 and has been lighting up the festival circuit, including just winning the Audience Award at the Glasgow Film Festival. Director Alankrita Shrivastava is confirmed to attend and additional talent to be confirmed.
“Lipstick Under My Burkha”
Iffla concluded on April 9 with a red carpet and gala that featured the Los Angeles premiere of Shubhashish Bhutiani’s “Hotel Salvation” starring Adil Hussain who was in attendance, as well as the...
The 15th annual Indian Film Festival of Los Angeles (Iffla) opened with “Lipstick Under My Burkha” and its impressive ensemble cast of Konkona Sen Sharma, Ratna Pathak, Aahana Kumra and Plabita Borthakur in a dramatic, but irreverent and vibrant film about women and faith. The film premiered at the Tokyo Film Festival 2016 and has been lighting up the festival circuit, including just winning the Audience Award at the Glasgow Film Festival. Director Alankrita Shrivastava is confirmed to attend and additional talent to be confirmed.
“Lipstick Under My Burkha”
Iffla concluded on April 9 with a red carpet and gala that featured the Los Angeles premiere of Shubhashish Bhutiani’s “Hotel Salvation” starring Adil Hussain who was in attendance, as well as the...
- 4/21/2017
- by Sydney Levine
- Sydney's Buzz
Keep up with the always-hopping film festival world with our weekly Film Festival Roundup column. Check out last week’s Roundup right here.
Lineup Announcements
– Cardiff Animation Nights will be returning to run a dedicated animation strand at Cardiff Independent Film Festival (C.I.F.F.) for a second year this May. This year’s animation strand at C.I.F.F. will comprise three programs of animated short films in competition for the Best Animation Award, as well as an Animated Family Shorts program curated by renowned Cardiff-based studio Cloth Cat Animation, networking events, and an Animation Quiz run by the team at Skwigly Animation Magazine.
The competition program features animated short films from across Europe, Asia, North America, South America and Australia, including Mikey Hill’s The Orchestra, Anete Melece’s Analysis Paralysis, Chris Shepherd’s Johnno’s Dead, Ross Hogg’s Life Cycles and Alois Di Leo’s Way of Giants.
Lineup Announcements
– Cardiff Animation Nights will be returning to run a dedicated animation strand at Cardiff Independent Film Festival (C.I.F.F.) for a second year this May. This year’s animation strand at C.I.F.F. will comprise three programs of animated short films in competition for the Best Animation Award, as well as an Animated Family Shorts program curated by renowned Cardiff-based studio Cloth Cat Animation, networking events, and an Animation Quiz run by the team at Skwigly Animation Magazine.
The competition program features animated short films from across Europe, Asia, North America, South America and Australia, including Mikey Hill’s The Orchestra, Anete Melece’s Analysis Paralysis, Chris Shepherd’s Johnno’s Dead, Ross Hogg’s Life Cycles and Alois Di Leo’s Way of Giants.
- 4/13/2017
- by Kate Erbland
- Indiewire
A Billion Colour Story wins audience award for best narrative.
The 15th annual Indian Film Festival Of Los Angeles (Iffla) wrapped on Sunday with a screening of Shubhashish Bhutiani’s Hotel Salvation and the presentation of the awards.
Bobby Sarma Baruah’s The Golden Wing (pictured) won the grand jury prize for best feature, while Karishma Dube’s Devi earned the best short prize.
In the audience awards, Padmakumar Narasimhamurthy’s A Billion Colour Story won best feature (narrative) and An Insignificant Man by Khushboo Ranka and Vinay Shukla took the best feature (documentary) prize.
Amar Kaushik’s Aaba was named best short.
The 15th annual Indian Film Festival Of Los Angeles took place from April 5-9 at Regal L.A. Live.
For further details click here.
The 15th annual Indian Film Festival Of Los Angeles (Iffla) wrapped on Sunday with a screening of Shubhashish Bhutiani’s Hotel Salvation and the presentation of the awards.
Bobby Sarma Baruah’s The Golden Wing (pictured) won the grand jury prize for best feature, while Karishma Dube’s Devi earned the best short prize.
In the audience awards, Padmakumar Narasimhamurthy’s A Billion Colour Story won best feature (narrative) and An Insignificant Man by Khushboo Ranka and Vinay Shukla took the best feature (documentary) prize.
Amar Kaushik’s Aaba was named best short.
The 15th annual Indian Film Festival Of Los Angeles took place from April 5-9 at Regal L.A. Live.
For further details click here.
- 4/10/2017
- by jeremykay67@gmail.com (Jeremy Kay)
- ScreenDaily
The 15th edition of the Indian Film Festival Of Los Angeles (Iffla) features two world premieres, five North American premieres.
The Los Angeles premiere of Alankrita Shrivastava’s Lipstick Under My Burka and Shubhashish Bhutiani’s debut feature Hotel Salvation bookend the festival, set to run from April 5-9.
Iffla top brass announced a line-up of narrative and documentary features on Tuesday that includes two world premieres, five North American premieres and five Us premieres.
The festival includes several directing debuts. Actress Konkona Sen Sharma will screen A Death In The Gunj, while Ananya Kasaravalli brings The Chronicles Of Hari and Padmakumar Narasimhamurthy will present Billion Colour Story.
Highlights are expected to include the Us premiere of Khushboo Ranka and Vinay Shukla’s documentary An Insignificant Man, about polarising political figure Arvind Kejriwal and his progressive Aam Aadmi Party at the 2013 Delhi state elections.
“As India’s diverse array of talented filmmakers continues to be recognised around...
The Los Angeles premiere of Alankrita Shrivastava’s Lipstick Under My Burka and Shubhashish Bhutiani’s debut feature Hotel Salvation bookend the festival, set to run from April 5-9.
Iffla top brass announced a line-up of narrative and documentary features on Tuesday that includes two world premieres, five North American premieres and five Us premieres.
The festival includes several directing debuts. Actress Konkona Sen Sharma will screen A Death In The Gunj, while Ananya Kasaravalli brings The Chronicles Of Hari and Padmakumar Narasimhamurthy will present Billion Colour Story.
Highlights are expected to include the Us premiere of Khushboo Ranka and Vinay Shukla’s documentary An Insignificant Man, about polarising political figure Arvind Kejriwal and his progressive Aam Aadmi Party at the 2013 Delhi state elections.
“As India’s diverse array of talented filmmakers continues to be recognised around...
- 3/7/2017
- ScreenDaily
Current head of film at Britdoc appointed to executive role.
Luke W Moody, currently head of film at Britdoc, has been confirmed as the new director of film programming at Sheffield Doc/Fest.
He will join Doc/Fest on 14 November, and will attend Idfa with festival director Liz McIntyre and the Doc/Fest team as he sets about building and shaping the film programme at Doc/Fest (whose next edition takes place 9-14 June 2017.)
Moody, who was born and grew up in the Sheffield area, arrives at Doc/Fest with a wealth of experience in the documentary arena.
At Britdoc, he has managed the organisation’s international documentary funding schemes including The Bertha Britdoc Journalism Fund and the Pulse Britdoc Genesis Fund, as well as the impact distribution releases for Britdoc Films.
Moody co-founded the Frames of Representation festival at the Institute of Contemporary Arts, London and Something Real digital documentary viewing service. He also recently...
Luke W Moody, currently head of film at Britdoc, has been confirmed as the new director of film programming at Sheffield Doc/Fest.
He will join Doc/Fest on 14 November, and will attend Idfa with festival director Liz McIntyre and the Doc/Fest team as he sets about building and shaping the film programme at Doc/Fest (whose next edition takes place 9-14 June 2017.)
Moody, who was born and grew up in the Sheffield area, arrives at Doc/Fest with a wealth of experience in the documentary arena.
At Britdoc, he has managed the organisation’s international documentary funding schemes including The Bertha Britdoc Journalism Fund and the Pulse Britdoc Genesis Fund, as well as the impact distribution releases for Britdoc Films.
Moody co-founded the Frames of Representation festival at the Institute of Contemporary Arts, London and Something Real digital documentary viewing service. He also recently...
- 10/17/2016
- by geoffrey@macnab.demon.co.uk (Geoffrey Macnab)
- ScreenDaily
The Toronto International Film Festival has nearly completed its slate announcement this year — expect a few stragglers to be announced in the coming days, but this is about the size of it — rounding out its lineup with today’s announcement of its Docs, Midnight Madness, Vanguard and Tiff Cinematheque picks. And what a group this is, including plenty of returning favorites and some very exciting new names.
Tiff’s Docs section features a collection of works from award-winning directors including Steve James, Raoul Peck, Errol Morris and Werner Herzog. Leonardo DiCaprio even pops up for a “rousing call to action on climate change” in “The Turning Point,” made in collaboration with Academy Award winner Fisher Stevens and already picked up by National Geographic.
Read More: Tiff Reveals First Slate of 2016 Titles, Including ‘Magnificent Seven,’ ‘American Honey,’ ‘La La Land’ and ‘Birth of A Nation’
The beloved Midnight Madness section offers...
Tiff’s Docs section features a collection of works from award-winning directors including Steve James, Raoul Peck, Errol Morris and Werner Herzog. Leonardo DiCaprio even pops up for a “rousing call to action on climate change” in “The Turning Point,” made in collaboration with Academy Award winner Fisher Stevens and already picked up by National Geographic.
Read More: Tiff Reveals First Slate of 2016 Titles, Including ‘Magnificent Seven,’ ‘American Honey,’ ‘La La Land’ and ‘Birth of A Nation’
The beloved Midnight Madness section offers...
- 8/9/2016
- by Kate Erbland
- Indiewire
Proposition For A Revolution, directed by Khushboo Ranka and Vinay Shukla, has been awarded a $50,000 grant from the Sundance Documentary Film Programme.
Currently in the final stages of post-production, the film is about the Aam Admi Party, which grew out of the anti-corruption protest movement in India. It also won a Prasad award in the Work-in-Progress Lab at Film Bazaar 2014 and has been supported by a crowdfunding campaign.
“We are treating it as a fiction film in terms of the quality of post-production, sound and colour grading,” said producer Ruchi Bhimani.
Bhimani’s One Eyed Turtle is producing the film with Shukla’s Friendly People and Anand Gandhi’s Memsys Labs.
Currently in the final stages of post-production, the film is about the Aam Admi Party, which grew out of the anti-corruption protest movement in India. It also won a Prasad award in the Work-in-Progress Lab at Film Bazaar 2014 and has been supported by a crowdfunding campaign.
“We are treating it as a fiction film in terms of the quality of post-production, sound and colour grading,” said producer Ruchi Bhimani.
Bhimani’s One Eyed Turtle is producing the film with Shukla’s Friendly People and Anand Gandhi’s Memsys Labs.
- 11/24/2015
- by lizshackleton@gmail.com (Liz Shackleton)
- ScreenDaily
Bangladeshi filmmaker Mostofa Sarwar Farooki’s No Man’s Land was awarded the $16,000 (Rs1m) Nfdc Development Award at the close of the Film Bazaar co-production market (Nov 20-24).
Produced by Farooki’s Dhaka-based Chabial, the film is about a member of the Ahmadiyya minority in Pakistan, which is discriminated against by the Sunni majority, and how he struggles with his identity in both his home country and the Us.
Meanwhile, Raam Reddy’s Thithi won an award for Digital Intermediate services at Prasad Efx under the ‘Work-in-Progress Feature’ category. Khushboo Ranka and Vinay Shukla’s Proposition For A Revolution took the same award in the Work-in-Progress documentary section.
Film Bazaar also introduced three $16,000 (Rs1m) interest-free repayable loans for projects seeking completion financing in the ‘Film Bazaar Recommends’ section.
Indian filmmaker Vidhu Vinod Chopra extended a $16,000 loan to Shlok Sharma’s Haraamkhor, on behalf of Vinod Chopra Films and Rajkumar Hirani. In addition...
Produced by Farooki’s Dhaka-based Chabial, the film is about a member of the Ahmadiyya minority in Pakistan, which is discriminated against by the Sunni majority, and how he struggles with his identity in both his home country and the Us.
Meanwhile, Raam Reddy’s Thithi won an award for Digital Intermediate services at Prasad Efx under the ‘Work-in-Progress Feature’ category. Khushboo Ranka and Vinay Shukla’s Proposition For A Revolution took the same award in the Work-in-Progress documentary section.
Film Bazaar also introduced three $16,000 (Rs1m) interest-free repayable loans for projects seeking completion financing in the ‘Film Bazaar Recommends’ section.
Indian filmmaker Vidhu Vinod Chopra extended a $16,000 loan to Shlok Sharma’s Haraamkhor, on behalf of Vinod Chopra Films and Rajkumar Hirani. In addition...
- 11/25/2014
- by lizshackleton@gmail.com (Liz Shackleton)
- ScreenDaily
Exclusive: Joris van Wijk of Amsterdam-based Le Boxeur Films has boarded Khushboo Ranka and Vinay Shukla’s documentary Proposition For A Revolution as a co-producer.
Produced by Anand Gandhi and Ruchi Bhimani, the project is screening in the Work-in-Progress Lab at this year’s Film Bazaar.
Joris van Wijk previously produced and directed documentary Veneer (2007) and executive produced Dutch features, such as Ben Sombogaart’s award-winning The Storm (2009).
“I find this documentary to be very relevant for an international audience and I was keen to become part of the process of helping to bring it out,” said Van Wijk. “Khushboo and Vinay have rendered the story with cinematic ease, which is rare to find in such young talent.”
Scheduled for delivery in 2015, the documentary follows India’s Aam Aadmi Party, an offshoot of the anti-corruption Janlokpal movement.
The filmmakers ran a successful crowdfunding campaign for the project, which also received support from Busan’s Asian Network for Documentary...
Produced by Anand Gandhi and Ruchi Bhimani, the project is screening in the Work-in-Progress Lab at this year’s Film Bazaar.
Joris van Wijk previously produced and directed documentary Veneer (2007) and executive produced Dutch features, such as Ben Sombogaart’s award-winning The Storm (2009).
“I find this documentary to be very relevant for an international audience and I was keen to become part of the process of helping to bring it out,” said Van Wijk. “Khushboo and Vinay have rendered the story with cinematic ease, which is rare to find in such young talent.”
Scheduled for delivery in 2015, the documentary follows India’s Aam Aadmi Party, an offshoot of the anti-corruption Janlokpal movement.
The filmmakers ran a successful crowdfunding campaign for the project, which also received support from Busan’s Asian Network for Documentary...
- 11/21/2014
- ScreenDaily
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