New Delhi: While We Watched directed by Vinay Shukla and Shaunak Sen’s All That Breathes have won the Peabody award in the Documentary category, the awards body announced on Thursday (May 9).
The award has been bagged by Indian filmmakers for a second consecutive year after Rintu Thomas and Sushmit Ghosh’s Writing With Fire won the award in 2023, making them the first Indian filmmakers to win this recognition.
Sen’s film, which was also nominated for the 2023 Oscar awards, is about two Muslim brothers who have devoted their life to looking after black kites. It has won over 17 international awards including the top documentary award at Cannes.
Shukla’s film follows former NDTV anchor and journalist Ravish Kumar as he battles a shrinking newsroom against the backdrop of an increasingly authoritarian government. Kumar’s iconic introduction – Namaskar Main Ravish Kumar – is also the original Hindi title of the film.
Kumar congratulated Shukla on the win, saying, “Vinay Shukla, a great congratulations to you. I learnt from you how different is the patience of a filmmaker and adopted it in my life. Aman, Reshma, Kalhan, Abhinav, I remember your patience and dedication every day. This award is for your hard work and thinking.”
विनय शुक्ला आपको शानदार बधाई। एक फ़िल्मकार का धीरज कितना अलग होता है, आपसे जाना और अपने जीवन में उतार लिया। अमान, रेशमा, कल्हान, अभिनव आप सभी के धीरज और लगन को मैं रोज़ याद करता हूँ। ये पुरस्कार आपकी मेहनत और सोच के लिए है।
आपकी इस फ़िल्म ने मुझे एक अलग ही दुनिया दिखाई। लंदन… https://t.co/fopxt7Sgq9
— ravish kumar (@ravishndtv) May 10, 2024
“I dedicate this award to Jess Search, whom I miss terribly, and to my uncle Sarvesh Shukla, who smiles at me every time I see him,” Shukla wrote on Instagram. Search, who passed away in 2023, was one of the executive producers of the film and was widely recognised in the documentary community for her extensive work in the field.
Also read: In ‘While We Watched’, Ravish Kumar Is a Picture of Courage in Perilous Times
Shukla’s film gained worldwide recognition shortly after its release with multiple international screenings in the US, UK and Canada, among others, for its poignant depiction of the rapid changes in the Indian media industry amid declining press freedom.
The film, which has won awards at the Busan and Toronto International film festivals, has been described as “timely depiction of a newsroom in crisis that follows Kumar for two years as he battles a barrage of fake news, falling ratings, and the resulting cutbacks while struggling to maintain fact-based analyses” by the Peabody group.
At what is considered to be an exciting time for the Indian documentary industry, the win has come as a well-deserved push for acceptance of the nonfiction format. However, Shukla has also been vocal about the lack of response from Indian distributors to organise the film’s screenings in India even as it saw house-full theatres and television premieres overseas.
While it has been screened a few times in New Delhi, Bengaluru and Mumbai as part of private screenings and those organised by film clubs and festivals, the film has not been made available to Indian audiences at a scale comparable to other countries.
Shortly after its nomination for the Peabody award, the film’s streaming rights were bought by Mubi. The film will premiere on the streaming platform on May 24.
Shukla has also directed An Insignificant Man (2016) alongside screenwriter and producer Khushboo Ranka which saw a traditional release and ran house-full shows in film theatres across the country. The film is also considered as one of the most successful Indian documentaries due to its 8-week long theatre run.
In a recent interview, the duo revealed the difficulties they faced in obtaining a certificate from the Central Board of Film Certification as well as the impossibility of making and releasing a film of that nature in today’s political climate.
