Indian documentary 'Writing with Fire' on Dalit journalists nominated for Oscars

A documentary Writing with Fire on Dalit journalists has been nominated for the Oscars under the Best Documentary Feature category. This was revealed when the final nominations list for the 94th annual Academy show was announced on Tuesday.

Directed by debutants Rintu Thomas and Sushmit Ghosh, Writing With Fire chronicles the rise of Khabar Lahariya, India’s only newspaper run by Dalit women.

“Writing With Fire” follows this ambitious group of Dalit wonder women – led by their chief reporter, Meera – as the team switches from print to the digital medium in order to stay relevant.

The Khabar Lahariya reporters are armed with just their courage and conviction and investigate and document the injustices in their region. They question the incompetence of the local police force, listen to and stand by victims of caste and gender violence, face intimidation and challenge the norms of their society that perpetuate injustice in their journey.

A neglected town receives medical attention; a rapist is prosecuted. New York Times review says: “And at a time when the profession faces increasing dangers in India, the film’s faith in the powers of grassroots journalism is nothing short of galvanizing”. The other films nominated under the Best Documentary Feature category include Ascension, Attica, Flee and Summer of Soul.

Meanwhile, Jane Campion’s emotional turmoil of a gay rancher in The Power of the Dog, an adaptation of a 1967 novel, got 12 nominations, including best picture, best director for Jane Campion, and acting nominations for star Benedict Cumberbatch and supporting players Kirsten Dunst, Jesse Plemons and Kodi Smit-McPhee.

Other films for Best Picture include sci-fi film Dune, Spielberg’s musical “inclusive” extragavanza West Side Story, Kenneth Branagh’s autobiographical Belfast, King Richard etc. The host has not yet been named for the Academy Awards ceremony, which will take place on Sunday, March 27. Here’s the list of the nominees:

Best Picture
Belfast
CODA
Don’t Look Up
Drive My Car
Dune
King Richard
Licorice Pizza
Nightmare Alley
The Power of the Dog
West Side Story

Best Director

Paul Thomas Anderson (Licorice Pizza)
Kenneth Branagh (Belfast)
Jane Campion (The Power of the Dog)
Steven Spielberg (West Side Story)
Ryûsuke Hamaguchi (Drive My Car)

Best Actress
Jessica Chastain (The Eyes of Tammy Faye)
Olivia Colman (The Lost Daughter)
Penélope Cruz (Parallel Mothers)
Nicole Kidman (Being the Ricardos)
Kristen Stewart (Spencer)

Best Actor

Javier Bardem (Being the Ricardos)
Benedict Cumberbatch (The Power of the Dog)
Andrew Garfield (Tick, Tick … Boom!)
Will Smith (King Richard)
Denzel Washington (The Tragedy of Macbeth)

Best Supporting Actress

Jessie Buckley (The Lost Daughter)
Ariana DeBose (West Side Story)
Judi Dench (Belfast)
Kirsten Dunst (The Power of the Dog)
Aunjanue Ellis (King Richard)

Best Supporting Actor

Ciarán Hinds (Belfast)
Troy Kotsur (CODA)
Jesse Plemons (The Power of the Dog)
J.K. Simmons (Being the Ricardos)
Kodi Smit-McPhee (The Power of the Dog)

Best Documentary Feature
Ascension
Attica
Flee
Summer of Soul
Writing With Fire

Best Animated Feature
Encanto
Flee
Luca
The Mitchells vs. The Machines
Raya and the Last Dragon

Best Cinematography

Dune (Greig Fraser)
Nightmare Alley (Dan Lausten)
The Power of the Dog (Ari Wegner)
The Tragedy of Macbeth (Bruno Delbonnel)
West Side Story (Janusz Kaminski)

Best Visual Effects
Dune
Free Guy
Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings
No Time to Die
Spider-Man: No Way Home