GULABI GANG
DirectorS: Nishtha Jain
Enter the badlands of Bundelkhand in central India and you will encounter a place of desolation, dust and despair. And yet it is hope that we discover as we follow the pink sari-clad women of Gulabi Gang. These women travel long distances by cart and tractor, bus and train, to wrest justice for women and Dalits, undeterred by sneering policemen and condescending bureaucrats.
Sampat Pal, their leader, is a rough-and-tough woman with a commanding personality. Despite her lack of education she has evolved her own brand of feminism and egalitarian politics. Her strength lies in her words. She is constantly on the move - today investigating a young woman's suspicious death, tomorrow protesting against a corrupt official.
The gang encounters resistance everywhere - entire villages connive in protecting the perpetrators of violence. As the film pulls us toward the centre of these blazing conflicts, we uncover a complex story, disturbing yet heartening.
Gulabi Gang premiered at the Norwegian Short Film Festival in Grimstad in June 2012, winning the Golden Chair for Best Documentary.
PRODUCTION FACTS
Director: Nishtha Jain
Producer: Thorstein Grude for Piraya Film, Norway
Co-producers: Signe Byrge Sørensen & Anne Köhncke for Final Cut for Real, Denmark
Year: 2012 (June)
Duration: 96', 58'
Format: HDCAM SR (1080p) & Digibeta
Supported by:
Danida, the Danish Film Institute, DR NRK, The Norwegian Film Institute, Western Norwegian Film Centre, Filmkraft Rogaland, Freedom of Expression Foundation, Stavanger Kommunes Kulturbyfond, Jan Vrijman Fund
Contact
General Inquiries
Kudos Family Distribution in Norway:
www.kudosfamily.com
AWARDS
The Norwegian Short Film Festival 2012 - Opening Film, Documentary Competition, and Winner of the Golden Chair for Best Documentary. (World premiere)
9th Dubai International Film Festival 2012 -
Best Film, Muhr AsiaAfrica Documentary section.
IDFA 2012 (International premiere)
Our Lives to Live International Film Festival, India, 2012. (Indian premiere)
Planet Doc Festival 2013 - The Amnesty International Award
Amnesty International Best Human Rights Documentary , Tri Continental Film Festival 2013, South Africa
Public Liberty and Human Rights Award, Long Documentary, Aljazeera International Documentary Film Festival 2014 , Quatar
National Film Awards 2014, India: Best Editing + Best Film on Social Issues