Writing with Fire

I don’t 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, India’s only all-female news network. You likely haven’t heard of them before, but you’ll 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 newspaper’s 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 fighting for justice. She and her staff understand the huge responsibility that rests on their shoulders, and they bravely take on the corruption from the major political party, demand answers from the ineffective local police force, expose unsafe working condition of miners, bring the neglect of India’s citizens at the hands of authorities to the forefront of the conversation, relentlessly persue justice for women who are raped (unchecked sexual assault is a huge problem in their country), and refuse to be intimidated by those in power (who happen to be men). India has been declared one of the most dangerous places in the world to practice journalism, but these brave, strong, and intelligent ladies keep reporting in spite of the threats. Their fortitude is one we should all admire. “Writing With Fire” is an entertaining, engaging, well-made, and inspiring film about women making a positive difference not only in their own country, but around the globe.

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 don’t 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. Mustn’t there? They matter of factly state they are in danger more than once, but it doesn’t necessarily feel real without more details or anecdotes. Also, a lot of events and stories are brought up here and, except for one case where we learn that after they released the story a rapist was arrested, we don’t really get to hear any follow-up to how the stories were received and what resulted from them (well, except for the periodic updates in the cumulative number of YouTube ‘hits,’ that is). So my hat is off to these brave journalists and I appreciate the production team making this documentary about them. I just think there were some lost opportunities along the way to improve the story.

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, but their questions of those in authority and of those ordinary people on the street offers us quite an indictment of generational attitudes that haven't changed in centuries. The purpose here is to expose the situation many women experience as being akin to those of chattels or property; indeed the root of many of their challenges seems to stem from an historical situation in which they were considered the property of their fathers or their husbands - property to be used, abused, traded or neglected as they saw fit. Meera Devi is determined to shine some light on those abhorrences and at some risk to herself and her fellow journalists, attempts to tackle attitudes amongst many ill-educated contemporaries. It's also quite an interesting look at just how the fixed media days are declining and at how quickly they can galvanise opinion on social media and how potently those technologies can influence the decisions of politicians, police and the judiciary when it comes to equality and fair treatment under the selectively applied law. The intimate style of the documentary gets us into the thick of things and the interview techniques come across as plausible and at times quite heart-rending. She asks "What has God to do with politics" to one man. Now there is a question.