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.