Writing with Fire

I dont get excited about documentary films very often, but Writing With Fire is one that I loved from start to finish. The filmmaking team of Rintu Thomas and Sushmit Ghosh have crafted an inspiring feature about the women journalists who run Khabar Lahariya, Indias only all-female news network. You likely havent heard of them before, but youll be inspired by their fearless work after watching this film.

The subjects of the documentary are all incredible, strong women who have had enough. The film documents the newspapers evolution from print to the digital age, and their fearless reporting takes off globally with a growing YouTube counter.

As chief editor Meera puts it, journalism is the essence of democracy and a vehicle for fightin...

I have nothing but respect for these women journalists. I give them ten stars each and collectively for their courage and determination. Having said that, for me this documentary about them falls a bit short of what it should be under the circumstances

There are two reasons I say this. One is that we dont seem to see any passion in the interviews or filming, the excitement or outrage that must have driven them in the interviews.I get it; on one level they are professionals and they want that reflected in this film. But there must have been moments when they caught fire both as women and as journalists and let it all hang out. Mustnt there? They matter of factly state they are in danger more than once, but it doesnt necessarily feel real...

Traditionally, I alway think of India as a nation littered with newspaper journalism but I hadn't quite clocked that the vast majority of that was run by men higher up the caste system than the "untouchable" Dalit women who decided to set up their own publication in the northern province of Uttar Pradesh. The three who feature here are pretty fearless when it comes to investigating the violence against women that goes largely unreported - it's certainly not investigated by a police force indifferent at best to the plight of many whose attacks are seen as settling disputes about family "honour". This documentary is set against a backdrop of forthcoming elections in which the existing Government is widely expected to be returned to office, bu...