The documentary ‘While We Watched’ on NDTV’s Prime Time program’s anchor Ravish Kumar will premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) 2022.
The documentary delves into the challenges of independent news reporting, misinformation, and threats in India.
The TIFF site says, ” At the centre of the film is veteran reporter Ravish Kumar of India’s NDTV who strives to uphold standards of independence and accountability. “Our job is to ask the most difficult questions to those in power,” he says. But every day, he faces a new set of challenges: budget cuts, staff departures, mysterious obstructions, and even death threats.
His station struggles to compete against the rising popularity of channels that replace news with zealots shouting down their opponents. Decades ago, writer Paddy Chayefsky satirized a dark trend line for TV news in Network, but the reality documented in While We Watched goes beyond anyone’s worst predictions.
Filmmaker Vinay Shukla tells this story with the speed of breaking news. Early on, the accelerator is pressed to the floor and it never lets up. One pleasure of the film is watching dogged correspondents riding the adrenaline rush of getting scoops. Against the odds of India’s increasingly grim news landscape, Kumar remains a beacon of hope in his professionalism and his mentoring of younger reporters. Their perseverance amidst the chaos is a wonder to behold.”
United Kingdom, 2022
English, Hindi
WORLD PREMIERE
92 minutes
Director
Vinay Shukla
Cast
Ravish Kumar, Sushil Mohapatra, Swarolipi Sengupta, Sushil Bahuguna, Saurabh Shukla, Deepak Chaubey
Cinematography
Amaan Shaikh, Vinay Shukla
Editing
Abhinav Tyagi
Executive Producers
Maxyne Franklin, Jess Search, Beadie Finzi
Producers
Vinay Shukla, Khushboo Ranka, Luke W. Moody
Production Companies
LONO Studio, Britdoc Films
Screenplay
Reshma Ramachandran, Amaan Shaikh, Abhinav Tyagi, Vinay Shukla
Sound
Renganaath Ravee, Bibin Dev
Original Score
Joaquin Garcia
