When Subjects Change their Relationship with your Film

Indian filmmakers Rintu Thomas and Sushmit Ghosh were pleasantly surprised when their  independent feature doc Writing with Fire swept up awards, including at Sundance, and became the first Indian feature doc to ever be nominated for an Oscar.

But they were shocked when the film's subjects, after traveling with and celebrating the film for 14-months, suddenly pulled back from the project, releasing a statement saying that the film oversimplifies their work.

In this episode, Rintu and Sushmit talk about how they maintain the delicate balance between filmmaker and participant, as well as the stakes and challenges of storytelling in a dynamically evolving and complex democracy.

Host Jennie Butler on Instagram
Executive Producer Sky Dylan-Robbins
Producer Amy DiGiacomo on Instagram and Twitter
Producer Caley Fox Shannon on Instagram
Producer Abhishyant Kidangoor
Editor Audrey Horowitz on Instagram

Got an idea for an episode? Email podcast@videoconsortium.org

Click here to support the Video Consortium