Sun. April 16th @ 10:30AM
AFS Cinemas
Texas Premiere
WHILE WE WATCHED
United Kingdom I 94 mins I Documentary I 2022
English, Hindi w/ English subtitles
* Virtual Q&A with director Vinay Shukla
Winner of the prestigious TIFF Amplify Voices Award, The Busan Cinephile Award '22, & the Sabeen Mahmud Award for Courage in Filmmaking '23 (MISAFF). A Special Presentation of DOC NYC
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Nominated for 'Political Film of the Year (Cinema For Peace '23), 'Right to Know Competition' (One World International Human Rights Documentary Festival), & 'Activist Documentary Award' (The Hague Movies That Matter '23)
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'Best International Documentary' Winner - DocPoint Helsinki, 2023
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The primetime Indian TV Journalist, Ravish Kumar, is in trouble. Famous for unflinching takedowns of the ruling establishment, his nerves have begun to fray as the Indian media landscape turns toward a new standard of high-decibel, polarizing, blustering TV debates.
Ravi's primetime bulletins have long been valued for solid research, verified evidence, and a sharp commentary with a touch of rustic sass. Yet, as press freedom further deteriorates, Ravish finds himself at the receiving end of harassment, intimidation, threats to his life, and even violence against his family.
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With a growing target on his back, and the looming issue of his network’s imminent closure, Ravish transforms from a spunky troublemaker into a deeply troubled man, worried for himself, his family, and the soul of his nation.
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About the Artist
Vinay Shukla is a filmmaker, producer, and leading figure in the Indian documentary landscape. His debut feature, the non- fiction political thriller, AN INSIGNIFICANT MAN (co-directed with
Khushboo Ranka) was internationally acclaimed, set a new anti-censorship precedent, and went on to become the most theatrically successful documentary film in India.
His short BUREAUCRACY SONATA (2011), won the HBO 'Best Short Film' Award at the 2012 South Asian International Film Festival. His work has attracted distinguished partnerships with Sundance, DocSociety, NFDC India, Asian Network of Documentaries, IDFA, and IDFA Bertha. His films have been celebrated at Warsaw Film Festival, Busan International Film Festival, BFI London, Sheffield Doc/Fest, among other leading world festivals.
Vinay also produced the globally renowned political strategy board games 'SHASN’, and its sequel, ‘SHASN: AZADI’. Vinay’s highly-anticipated second feature film, ‘While We Watched’ - a non-fiction newsroom drama - is premiering at the 2022 Toronto International Film Festival.
Thank you to our community partner for this screening!
Credits
Writer/Director: Vinay Shukla
Producer(s): Vinay Shukla
Khushboo Ranka
Luke W. Moody
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Exec. Producers: Jess Search
Maxyne Franklin
Beadie Finzi
Vijay Vaidyanathan
Cinematography: Amaan Shaikh
Vinay Shukla
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Film Editor: Abhinav Tyagi
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Cast: Ravish Kumar
Sushil Mohapatra
Swarolipi Sengupta
Sushil Bahuguna
Saurabh Shukla
Deepak Chaubey
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Writing Credits: Reshma Ramachandran
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Sound: Renganaath Ravee
Bibin Dev
Music by: Joaquin Garcia
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