Indian documentary Writing With Fire has been nominated in the Best Documentary Feature category for the 94th Academy Awards. It has become the only Indian film to enter the race this year. A video showing filmmaker Rintu Thomas’s euphoric reactions at being nominated has gone viral. Fans and Bollywood celebrities applauded them. The documentary has been nominated alongside Ascension, Attica, Flee and Summer of the Soul (Or When the Revolution Could not be Televised).
Farhan Akhtar took to his Twitter handle and wrote, “Huge congratulations to @RintuThomas11 and #SushmitGhosh on their Oscar nomination. Rooting for you #WritingWithFire #AcademyAwards.” Actor Ali Fazal shared Rintu‘s original tweet and wrote, “This is HUGEEEE!!!!!! Congratulationsssssss.” Filmmaker Neeraj Ghaywan also shared the video on his timeline and tweeted, “Congratulations to the whole team! This is amazing!” Lyricist Varun Grover wrote, “So well done, so wholesome. Congratulations and best wishes for the journey ahead”. Fans also congratulated the filmmakers.
Directed by Rintu and Sushmit’s Writing With Fire chronicles the rise of Khabar Lahariya, India’s only newspaper run by Dalit women.
Take a look at the tweets here:
Khabar Lahariya was started in 2002 by Delhi based NGO Nirantar from Chitrakoot in Bundelkhand region. Writing with Fire shows Khabar Lahariya’s transition from print to digital in recent years. The film follows Meera and her fellow journalists as they get acquainted with new technology whilst questioning patriarchy, investigating incompetence of the police force and reporting stories about victims of caste and gender violence.
