‘To Kill A Tiger’ documentary makes Oscars long list…

Triumph for film which charts harrowing journey of young Indian village girl who is sexually assaulted…

NISHA PAHUJA the director behind the hard-hitting documentary, ‘To Kill A Tiger’ has expressed her personal thanks to the family at the heart of the film – after it was announced the film has made it through to the long list of film documentaries now to be considered for an Oscar.

The film in Hindi charts the journey for justice for Kiran – who was raped by three men as a 13-year-old and along with her parents mounts a case against the 19-year-old men, who were known to her and attacked her following a wedding party in their village.

Pahuja’s film has extensive interviews with the family and Kiran’s courage and tenacity are well documented, as is her father’s dogged determination to seek justice in a tightly knit community village setting. Most think Kiran should just get married to one of the rapists and be done with the whole thing.

Ranjit, along with his wife, Jaganti and a charity which fights for justice for victims such as Kiran, launched and support the criminal case despite the many obstacles in the Indian state of Jharkhand.

The film is about to release in the US and is executively produced by British star actor Dev Patel and US star Mindy Kaling.

www.asiancultuevulture.com recently attended a screening in London with the pair both present. They discussed their film and the impact it was having – more and more girls like Kiran are fighting back and seeking justice – and in the UK, the film is backed by a campaign, #StandwithHer which promotes victims of abuse to tell their stories and campaigns for justice. The film has yet to have a distributor in the UK.

In the summer, both Kiran and Ranjit attended a screening at the BFI which was hosted as part of the London Indian Film Festival. BBC broadcasters Sunny and Shay conducted the post screening Q&A in Hindi with Ranjit and then later with Kiran. Pictures were forbidden to preserve Kiran’s wider anonymity.

Kiran is a pseudonym and Pahuja told the British audience at the most recent screening that Kiran – now 18 – was studying in higher education and has expressed a desire to join the police force in India and help victims of sexual abuse like herself seek justice.

Several Indian production members took to Instagram to express their pride at the nomination and on the film’s own Instagram account, it announced: “We are thrilled to share that ‘To Kill a Tiger’ (capped in original) has made the Oscar shortlist.

“We’re honoured to be included alongside 14 other incredible films. Thank you all for supporting this leg of our journey. But mostly, we thank Ranjit, Kiran and Jaganti for sharing their lives and their journey to justice with the world. #StandWithHer.”

Several other Oscar categories long and short lists were also announced on Thursday (December 21) – India’s official entry to the Foreign Language section, the Malayalam language ‘2018: Everyone’s a Hero’ failed to make the cut.

ACV recently covered a promotional launch of the Oscars bid at the International Film Festival of India (IFFI – November 20-28), interviewing actor Narain and the presentation was made in the company of Shekhar Kapur, the chairman of the main IFFI jury and a minister of state for broadcasting and information Neerja Sekhar. See here – https://youtu.be/dGW_uDOFbzQ?si=KGFOQbCbEKXZ-GO2

Bhutan’s ‘The Monk and the Gun’ by Pawo Chonyning Dorji has made it through to the list of 15 International fiction features made in a foreign language. British director Jonathan Glazer’s ‘The Zone of Interest’ which is in German and which acv saw at its world premiere in Cannes is also through to the long list stage. ACV also saw the French entry, ‘The Taste of Things‘ (Pot Au Feu/The Passion of Dodin Bouffant) at Cannes.

Academy members can now only vote for these films in their respective categories and the final shortlists will be announced on Tuesday, January 23 2024 with the actual 96th Academy Awards taking place on Sunday March 10 in Hollywood, Los Angeles.

More on the other categories announced : https://www.oscars.org
Follow To Kill A Tiger journey…
https://www.instagram.com/p/C1Iom1hA8Lw/?hl=en

Full shortlist in the documentary category (lists are in alphabetical order)

American Symphony; Apolonia, Apolonia; Beyond Utopia; Bobi Wine: The People’s President; Desperate Souls; Dark City and the Legend of Midnight Cowboy; The Eternal Memory; Four Daughters; Going to Mars: The Nikki Giovanni Project; In the Rearview; Stamped from the Beginning; Still: A Michael J. Fox Movie; A Still Small Voice; 32 Sounds; To Kill a Tiger; 20 Days in Mariupol.

Foreign Language Fiction features long list
Armenia, Amerikatsi; Bhutan, The Monk and the Gun; Denmark, The Promised Land; Finland, Fallen Leaves; France, The Taste of Things; Germany, The Teachers’ Lounge; Iceland, Godland; Italy, Io Capitano; Japan, Perfect Days; Mexico, Totem; Morocco, The Mother of All Lies; Spain, Society of the Snow; Tunisia, Four Daughters; Ukraine, 20 Days in Mariupol; United Kingdom, The Zone of Interest.

All pictures courtesy of Notice Pictures Inc

Wishing all our readers a Most Happy Christmas if you are celebrating – we will be back now after Christmas Day