India's Daughter

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India's Daughter

A film by Leslee Udwin

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SYNOPSIS

INDIA’S DAUGHTER is the powerful story of the 2012, brutal gang rape on a Delhi bus of a 23 year old medical student, who later died from her injuries. In 2012, it made international headlines and ignited protests by women in India and around the world. BAFTA winning filmmaker Leslee Udwin, herself a victim of rape, went to India inspired by the protests against sexual assault. With an all Indian crew, Udwin got exclusive, first time on camera interviews with the rapists and defense attorney, none of whom express remorse. The defense attorney goes even further, stating that “immodest” women deserve what happens to them. An impassioned plea for change, INDIA’S DAUGHTER pays tribute to a remarkable and inspiring young woman and explores the compelling human stories behind the incident and the political ramifications throughout India. But beyond India, the film lays bare the way in which societies and their patriarchal values have spawned such acts of violence globally.

PRESS

"This film does what the politicians should be doing… this documentary’s determination to shed light on the country’s rape crisis should inspire change."

The Guardian

"India’s Daughter is a necessary watch – not just for women of India but for women across the world.”

The Independent

"Ms. Udwin's film has increased worldwide awareness of attitudes that beget sexual violence against women."

The New York Times

"This harrowing documentary… provides a revealing insight into a horrific crime that sent shock waves around the world and led to protests across India demanding changes in attitudes towards women."

BBC

"***An American Library Association-Video Round Table Notable Video for Adults, this film is recommended."

Video Librarian

SCREENING HIGHLIGHTS AND AWARDS

Biografilm Bologna, Audience Award
Indian Film Festival of Stuttgart, Audience Award
Gucci Tribeca Documentary Fund, Spotlighting Women Documentary Award

Denver Film Festival
Citizen Jane Film Festival
Sheffield Doc/Fest
AFI DOCS
Tribeca Film Festival
International Documentary Film Festival Amsterdam (IDFA)- Docs for Sale
Indian Film Festival of Stuttgart
Biografilm Bologna
Cinema for Peace, Cannes
United Nations Association Film Festival, Stanford University
Heartland Festival
Bisbee Film Festival

ABOUT FILMMAKER(S)

Leslee Udwin

In 1986, Leslee faced a life- and home-threatening experience at the hands of one of Britain's most notorious criminal landlords. After fighting a long and hard battle against him, and winning - setting a legal precedent in the High Court of England - she felt that as many people as possible should know about and be inspired by this optimistic story, so she set about getting it made as a TV film. That was her first step towards producing. The resultant TV film (BBC Screen Two) "SITTING TARGETS" had considerable impact as a piece of campaigning television.

Leslee was then developed and produced the award-winning drama-documentary feature “Who Bombed Birmingham?” (starring John Hurt) for Granada TV and HBO. This film was hailed as mould-breaking and had an enormous and controversial impact in the UK. It helped get the case of the six innocent men reopened and led to the long overdue release of ‘the Birminghjam Six’ (after 17 years of wrongful imprisonment). It also led Margaret Thatcher, then PM of England, to pronounce in parliament “We will not have trial by Television in this country!”. The film criticised the police for forcing confessions out of these innocent men, and the British Judiciary for the responsibility they bore for this miscarriage of Justice and abuse of Human Rights.

In 1995 Leslee set up her own Feature Film production company, ASSASSIN FILMS, under the auspices of which she has produced 5 feature films, including EAST IS EAST a comedy drama about cultural integration. This was her first feature film and it went on to win the BAFTA Award for best British Film, and some 35 other prestigious awards worldwide. EAST IS EAST was the first British independent low-budget film to cross over into mainstream cinemas and become a worldwide hit. It has contributed strongly to inter-cultural relations between the British and Asian communities in the UK, and is used as a learning tool in schools across Europe.

Leslee was awarded the London Critics’ Circle Producer of the Year Award.

Amongst further feature films, Leslee also Produced WEST IS WEST (starring Om Puri, Ila Arun, Vijay Raaz), a sequel to EAST IS EAST, which was a smash hit in the UK and which won a number of international awards.

As well as producing Leslee also lectures on film and its value as a tool for change - including seminars at (amongst others) The Danish National Film School, the National Film and Television School of the UK, the Oxford Union at Oxford university, London Film Academy, Notre Dame University USA.

INDIA’s Daughter is her first documentary and her debut as a director. (5/15)

Subject Areas

After the Rape

In 2002, Mukhtar Mai, a rural Pakistani woman from a remote part of the Punjab, was gang-raped by order of her tribal council as punishment for her younger brother’s alleged relationship with a woman from another clan. Instead of committing suicide or living in shame, Mukhtar spoke out, fighting for justice in the Pakistani courts—making world headlines. Further defying custom, she started two schools for girls in her village and a crisis center for abused women. Mukhtar, who had never learned to read but knew the Koran by heart, realized that only a change in mentality could break brutal, archaic traditions and social codes. Her story, included in the bestseller “Half the Sky” by Nicholas D. Kristof and Sheryl WuDunn, and the subject of Mukhtar’s own memoir, “In the Name of Honor”, has inspired women across the globe. Revealing the progress and fruits of Mukhtar’s labor, this powerful documentary tracks the school’s profound impact on the girls and families of Meerwala and shows how the crisis center empowers women seeking its help. An important look inside Pakistan, where the impact of Islamic fundamentalism is revealed and how women are fighting its oppressive and violent impact.

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Pink Saris

“A girl’s life is cruel...A woman’s life is very cruel,” notes Sampat Pal, the complex protagonist at the center of PINK SARIS, internationally acclaimed director Kim Longinotto’s latest foray into the lives of extraordinary women (SISTERS IN LAW, DIVORCE IRANIAN STYLE, ROUGH AUNTIES). Sampat should know – like many others she was married as a young girl into a family which made her work hard and beat her often. But unusually, she fought back, leaving her in-laws and eventually becoming famous as a champion for beleaguered women throughout Uttar Pradesh, many of whom find their way to her doorstep. Like Rekha, a fourteen year old Untouchable, who is three months pregnant and homeless – unable to marry her unborn child’s father because of her low caste. Fifteen year old Renu's husband from an arranged marriage has abandoned her, her father-in-law has been raping her and she's threatening to throw herself under a train. Both young women, frightened and desperate, reach out for their only hope: Sampat Pal and her Gulabi Gang, Northern India’s women vigilantes in pink. PINK SARIS is an unflinching and often amusing look at these unlikely political activists and their charismatic leader; in extraordinary scenes, we watch Sampat launch herself into the centre of family dramas, witnessed by scores of spectators, convinced her mediation is the best path for these vulnerable girls. Her partner Babuji, who has watched Sampat change over the years, is less certain...

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Invoking Justice

In Southern India, family disputes are settled by Jamaats—all male bodies which apply Islamic Sharia law to cases without allowing women to be present, even to defend themselves. Recognizing this fundamental inequity, a group of women in 2004 established a women’s Jamaat, which soon became a network of 12,000 members spread over 12 districts. Despite enormous resistance, they have been able to settle more than 8,000 cases to date, ranging from divorce to wife beating to brutal murders and more. Award-winning filmmaker Deepa Dhanraj (SOMETHING LIKE A WAR) follows several cases, shining a light on how the women’s Jamaat has acquired power through both communal education and the leaders’ persistent, tenacious and compassionate investigation of the crimes. In astonishing scenes we watch the Jamaat meetings, where women often shout over each other about the most difficult facets of their personal lives. Above all, the women’s Jamaat exists to hold their male counterparts and local police to account, and to reform a profoundly corrupt system which allows men to take refuge in the most extreme interpretation of the Qur’an to justify violence towards women.

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Salma

When Salma, a young Muslim girl in a south Indian village, was 13 years old, her family locked her up for 25 years, forbidding her to study and forcing her into marriage. During that time, words were Salma’s salvation. She began covertly composing poems on scraps of paper and, through an intricate system, was able to sneak them out of the house, eventually getting them into the hands of a publisher. Against the odds, Salma became the most famous Tamil poet: the first step to discovering her own freedom and challenging the traditions and code of conduct in her village. As with her other work (PINK SARIS, ROUGH AUNTIES, SISTERS IN LAW), master documentarian Kim Longinotto trains her camera on an iconoclastic woman. Salma’s extraordinary story is one of courage and resilience. Salma has hopes for a different life for the next generation of girls, but as she witnesses, familial ties run deep, and change happens very slowly. SALMA helps us understand why the goal of global education of girls is one the most critical areas of empowerment and development of women worldwide.

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Light Fly, Fly High

Thulasi, a young Indian woman in her twenties, is literally willing to box her way out of poverty and into a better life. A Dalit or “untouchable” born outside of caste, she rejected her place on society’s lowest rung at an early age and was forced to leave her parents’ home when only 14. Ten years later, despite her impressive record in the ring, ranking 3rd in India’s Light Fly category, Thulasi remains stuck at the bottom, deprived of opportunities she rightly deserves. Despite an uphill battle against sexual harassment, poverty and the pressure to marry, Thulasi refuses to compromise herself and her goals and takes her destiny into her own hands. Filmed during three eventful years, LIGHT FLY, FLY HIGH is a beautifully shot, gripping and inspirational story of a courageous young woman who refuses to be anyone’s victim and ends up a hero of her own making against all odds.

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Brave Miss World

In October 1998, eighteen-year-old Linor Abargil was stabbed and raped while working as a model in Milan. Weeks later she was crowned Israel’s first Miss World. Over the course of five years, director Cecilia Peck (Shut Up & Sing) follows Abargil, on a mission to confront the trauma of her past, including a hunt for other victims of the man who raped her, preventing his parole. Abargil, a poised, magnetic and supremely empathic advocate travels from Hollywood to rape crisis centers, American college campuses and the townships of South Africa to share her story and inspire others to confront shame and to heal. Emmy nominated BRAVE MISS WORLD is a call for justice and a startlingly honest portrayal of how personal tragedy can be transformed into a global awareness campaign against sexual violence. This special edition includes both the theatrical version (88min) and the educational version (60min), which is tightly paced and specifically designed for student audiences. Also included are exclusive bonus scenes, a report by Gloria Allred on a previously unpublished campus rape investigation, survivor testimonials and filmmaker interviews.

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Primas

Two teenage cousins in Argentina come of age together, overcoming the heinous acts of violence that interrupted their childhoods.

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OUR CATALOG

India's Daughter

SYNOPSIS

PRESS

SCREENING HIGHLIGHTS AND AWARDS

ABOUT FILMMAKER(S)

Subject Areas

RELATED LINKS

YOU MIGHT ALSO BE INTERESTED IN

After the Rape

Pink Saris

Invoking Justice

Salma

Light Fly, Fly High

Brave Miss World

Primas