Synopsis
India's Daughter is the story of the short life, brutal gang rape and murder in Delhi in December 2012 of an exceptional and inspiring young woman. The rape of the 23 year old medical student by 6 men on a moving bus, and her death, sparked unprecedented protests and riots throughout India and led to the first glimmers of a change of mindset. Interwoven into the story line are the lives, values and mindsets of the rapists whom the film makers have had exclusive and unprecedented access to interview before they hang. The film examines the culture of rape and violence against women that exists in India and throughout the world and makes an optimistic and impassioned plea for change.
Director Biography
Leslee Udwin is an independent British filmmaker based in London. No stranger to campaigning films which proved to be powerful tool for change, she produced Who Bombed Birmingham (starring John Hurt, for Granada/HBO) which directly led to the release of the Birmingham Six after 17 years of wrongful imprisonment, as well as Sitting Targets (BBC Screen 2) which chronicled her real life struggles against Britain’s most notorious criminal landlord, during which she set a legal precedent in the High Court of England. Her feature films for her production company Assassin Films include award-winning films West is West, MrsRatcliffe's Revolution and East is East (which was awarded the BAFTA award for best British film as well as 35 other prestigious awards worldwide).
Leslee herself was awarded the London Critics’ Circle Producer of the Year Award.
Her first documentary and her debut as a director, India's Daughter, was critically acclaimed around the globe and provoked a global discussion about gender equality and women's rights. It has been awarded the Audience Award for Best Film in Biografilm Festival's Contemporary Lives. Leslee herself won the Filmmaker of the Year Award in India's NBC Newsmakers Achievement Awards. Leslee is currently advising the United Nations Human Rights Commission on a global education mission (“Equality Studies Global Initiative”).
Leslee Udwin