Women's news organization in rural India ecstatic over 'Writing with Fire' Oscar Nomination

By: WE Staff | Thursday, 10 February 2022

An all-women rural news organization in northern India is ecstatic after a documentary film about their crusading reporting, particularly on the hardships faced by lower caste communities, received an Oscar nomination.

"Writing with Fire," a 93-minute documentary about the women behind the online news outlet "Khabar Lahariya," which translates to "New Waves" in Hindi, has been nominated for an Academy Award in the category of Best Documentary Feature.

"I am so happy. But I can't express it well," Meera Devi, a reporter for Khabar Lahariya, spoke to Reuters by phone while covering local elections in Uttar Pradesh, India's most populous northern state, where the news organisation is based.

Devi appears frequently in the film, wading through fields, hitching a ride on potholed roads, and filming smartphone videos of villagers as they describe their problems.

Khabar Lahariya, which was founded by a group of women 20 years ago, focuses on women's and local issues in rural Uttar Pradesh, where caste faultlines are sharply drawn and violence against lower castes is common.

One of the organization's co-founders, Kavita Devi, stated, "we are proud that 20 years of our rural reporting and hard work is being appreciated and loved by a global audience; encouraging us to further our women-led grassroots media revolution.”

Khabar Lahariya is based in a farmhouse and teaches local women how to conduct interviews and use phones.

The trailer for the film, directed by Rintu Thomas and Sushmit Ghosh, shows them travelling on foot and in crowded buses for the first time, and learning how to use a mobile phone.

Some in Bollywood, India's popular Hindi language film industry, praised the Oscar nomination.

Parineeti Chopra, an actress, expressed her thoughts, “this feels like a personal victory. Congratulations my fellow Indians! You have made us all a little emotional today.”

Ghosh and Thomas were unavailable for comment at the time of publication. On March 27, in a televised ceremony, the Academy Awards will be announced.