Oscars 2022: A still from Writing With Fire.
Highlights
- It has been directed by Sushmit Ghosh-Rintu Thomas
- The documentary was shot over five years
- 'Writing With Fire' was well-received on the film festival circuit
The made in India Writing With Fire lost the Oscar for Best Documentary Feature at the 94th Academy Awards; Summer Of Soul won instead. The other contenders in the Best Documentary Feature category were Ascension, Attica, Flee. Writing With Fire, directed, produced and edited by filmmaker duo Sushmit Ghosh and Rintu Thomas, documents the story of Khabar Lahariya, a newspaper run by Dalit women journalists in Bihar and Uttar Pradesh. It follows the publication's chief reporter and crime reporter as they cover news in some of the country's most troubled regions. Shot over five years, Writing With Fire was well-received on the film festival circuit and won a slew of prizes, including a Special Jury Award and the Audience Award at the Sundance Film Festival.
Writing With Fire is the first Indian-made entry to have been nominated for Best Documentary Feature at the Oscars. Two entries set in India - Smile Pinki and Period. End Of Sentence, previously won Oscars for Best Documentary Short.
Last week, Writing With Fire makers Rintu Thomas and Sushmit Ghosh were at an event co-hosted by Priyanka Chopra to honour this year's Oscar nominees of South Asian origin. Earlier this month, Priyanka wrote in her Instagram Stories: "Way to go team, Writing With Fire. Congratulations on a much-deserved Oscar nomination."
Last month, after the Oscar nominations were announced, Rintu Thomas shared a video of Team Writing With Fire's reaction to their inclusion in the Best Documentary Feature slate. Oh My God!!!! Writing With Fire just got nominated for the @TheAcademy Award. Oh My God!!!!!!!! #OscarNoms #WritingWithFire," Rintu Thomas wrote in her tweet.
Meanwhile, the big winners at the 94th Academy Awards were Troy Kotsur, who won Best Supporting Actor for CODA. Ariana DeBose won best supporting actress Oscar for West Side Story. Dune won 6 awards (mostly in technical categories).