Latest news with #WhileWeWatched
The Print
21-04-2025
- Entertainment
- The Print
Vinay Shukla's ‘While We Watched' wins inaugural Henry grand prize at Harvard Kennedy School
Directed and produced by Shukla and produced by Luke W Moody and Khushboo Ranka, 'While We Watched' follows journalist Ravish Kumar for two years as he battles a barrage of fake news, falling ratings and the resulting cutbacks at his organisation. The award is given for Public Interest Documentary by The Documentary Film in the Public Interest Initiative. It recognises nonfiction films that advance public understanding of the critical issues of our time while demonstrating outstanding cinematic achievement. Mumbai, Apr 18 (PTI) Filmmaker Vinay Shukla's multiple award-winning documentary 'While We Watched', a turbulent newsroom drama featuring Ravish Kumar, has won the Grand Prize at the inaugural 2025 Henry Awards at the Harvard Kennedy School's Shorenstein Center on Media, Politics and Public Policy. ''While We Watched' premiered at the 2022 Toronto International Film Festival where it won the 'Amplify Voices Awards'. Starting with the 2025 Henry Awards, a grand prize of USD 100,000 will be awarded annually while each of the four finalists will receive a prize of USD 25,000. The award winners, finalists, and honorable mentions were recognized at a celebratory dinner on campus on April 16. Shukla said it was an incredible honour to receive the Henry Grand Prize – especially from an institution like Harvard, which has long stood for 'intellectual rigour, public service, and the pursuit of truth'. ''While We Watched' is a deeply personal film – not just about one journalist, but about what it means to hold on to your values when everything around you is shifting. We made this film against impossible odds: with no money, partners dropping out mid-production, and constant uncertainty about its future. To see it capture the zeitgeist the way it has over the past few years has been truly heartening,' the filmmaker said. Shukla said he feels like he has won 'Kaun Banega Crorepati', a popular quiz reality show hosted by Amitabh Bachchan as the prize money is the same. 'I feel like I've just won KBC – which is quite something, considering I wasn't the smart sibling,' he added. The jury for the 2025 Henry Awards, comprising Ra'anan Alexandrowicz, Mandy Chang, Petra Costa, Ron Nixon and Michèle Stephenson, said, ''While We Watched' is an exceptional cautionary tale that takes an unflinching look at the State's violent crackdown on freedom of expression through the experience of a journalist who dares to defend his integrity. 'Ravish Kumar is an unforgettable character. His specific story manages to instantly transcend its locality and become a real time documentation of the attack against the free press. The film is a brave effort by the filmmakers that should serve as a warning to us all.' PTI BK BK BK This report is auto-generated from PTI news service. ThePrint holds no responsibility for its content.
Boston Globe
17-04-2025
- Entertainment
- Boston Globe
Inaugural Henry Awards for documentary film awarded by Harvard's Shorenstein Center
Get Starting Point A guide through the most important stories of the morning, delivered Monday through Friday. Enter Email Sign Up To that end, the Shorenstein Center is also hosting a two-day symposium for filmmakers, distributors, and other stakeholders to discuss some of the field's thornier issues, including financial challenges, distribution, and the ethical obligations filmmakers have to their subjects. Advertisement Gibbs added that a 'priority was to anchor this prize in the context of best practices for creating films that serve the public interest.' Advertisement The winning films were honored at a celebratory dinner Wednesday evening, where Linda Henry described the Henry's hopes for the awards and symposium. The 'big, audacious dream,' she said in an early draft of prepared remarks obtained by the Globe, 'is that this incredible group of leading filmmakers, this Shorenstein Center, this Harvard University, can help further elevate and validate documentary films.' The top award winner, ' 'His specific story manages to instantly transcend its locality and become a real time documentation of the global rise of fascism, and the attack against the free press,' the jury said in a statement about the film. 'The film is a brave effort by the filmmakers that should serve as a warning to us all.' Vinay Shukla, director of "While We Watched." (Movies That Matter) Movies That Matter Jury member Petra Costa said Shukla's film affected her deeply. 'It was like seeing my future,' said Costa, a documentary filmmaker from Brazil. 'I think that is the case for the US as well, in the sense of how fascism can evolve in the guise of democracy.' The Henry Awards also honored four finalists: director Kaouther Ben Hania's 'Four Daughters,' which explores mother daughter relationships; Ibrahim Nash'at's 'Hollywoodgate,' which follows Taliban leaders after the US withdrawal; Agniia Galdanova's 'Queendom,' which profiles a queer artist in Vladimir Putin's Moscow; and Yousef Srouji's 'Three Promises,' which tells his family's story during the Second Intifada. Advertisement Honorable mentions when to director Alain Kassanda's 'Coconut Head Generation' and 'If We Burn,' a film by directors and producers James Leong and Lynn Lee. 'The films are of such excellence, both in form and content,' said Costa of the honorees. 'I think it's what documentary filmmaking should aspire to.' Shukla, whose film was originally released in 2022, said he was deeply honored to receive the award. 'Every time you make a film, it's like putting a paper boat in the water,' he said. 'To see it sailing after all these years, I'm really grateful.' Malcolm Gay can be reached at
