Canadian film maker Nisha Pahuja’s documentary To Kill a Tiger has been nominated for the Oscar for Documentary Feature Film at the 96th Academy Awards.
In To Kill a Tiger, Ranjit, a farmer in Jharkhand, India, takes on the fight of his life when he demands justice for his 13-year-old daughter, the survivor of sexual assault. In India, where a rape is reported every 20 minutes and conviction rates are less than 30 percent, Ranjit’s decision to support his daughter is virtually unheard of, and his journey unprecedented.
The nomination is the latest honour for To Kill a Tiger, which to date has received over 20 Canadian and international awards.
“I am beyond thrilled that To Kill a Tiger has been nominated for an Academy Award. This is an extraordinary honour for the creative team behind this eight-year journey, and it’s a testament to the tireless group of women working outside the normal ecosystem to ensure this story is seen and does what it needs to in the world. We’re here, at this moment, because a farmer in India, his wife and their 13-year-old daughter had the courage to demand her human rights. We are grateful to the National Film Board of Canada, our executive producers and everyone on the team for their support. It is our hope and intent that this film will encourage other survivors to seek justice, and that men stand with us in our fight for gender equality,” said Nisha Pahuja.
Suzanne Guèvremont, Government Film Commissioner and NFB Chairperson said, “Congratulations to Nisha Pahuja and her entire production team on a powerful film that follows the unprecedented journey of Ranjit and his courageous daughter as they fight for justice. Today’s nomination is a tribute to them as well as to Nisha’s dedication and vision as a talented filmmaker. As co-producer, the National Film Board of Canada is proud to have helped bring this moving work of non-fiction storytelling to the screen, and to share it with audiences across Canada and around the world.”
Nisha Pahuja is an Emmy-nominated filmmaker based in Toronto. Her latest film, To Kill a Tiger, had its world premiere at TIFF, where it won the Amplify Voices Award for Best Canadian Feature Film. Since then, it’s won over 20 awards, including Best Documentary Feature at the Palm Springs International Film Festival and three Canadian Screen Awards. The film grew out of a long career of addressing various human rights issues, notably violence against women in India. In 2015, Pahuja won an Amnesty International Media Award for Canadian journalism after making a short film about the Delhi bus gang rape for Global News. Her other past credits include the multi-award-winning The World Before Her (2012
