THE WORLD BEFORE HER
A film by Nisha Pahuja
90 min | Canada | 2012
29 Jan 2015, 7 p.m. sharp
Everest Talkies, Frazer Town
Open to delegates. Passes available at venue.
Synopsis:
In the lobby of a modest Bombay hotel, 20 young women from across India arrive for an intense, month-long beauty boot camp. They are the hand-picked contestants for the Miss India pageant, the ultimate glamour event in a country that has gone mad for beauty contests. Winning the coveted title means instant stardom, a lucrative career path and, for some girls, freedom from the constraints of a patriarchal society.
But as the popularity of pageants has exploded, so have the controversies surrounding them.
Through dramatic verite action and unprecedented behind-the-scenes access, The World Before Her sweeps back the curtain to reveal the intimate stories of young women determined to win the crown and the forces that oppose them. Hindu fundamentalists view pageants and their “international” beauty standards as immoral and a symbol of the rapid Westernization of India; protests are common.
Yet amid pageant dazzle and heated rhetoric, filmmaker Nisha Pahuja ensures the faces and voices of India’s young women remain front stage centre.
As the contestants move through beauty boot camp, Pahuja travels to another corner of India to visit an annual camp for young girls run by the Durgha Vahini, the women’s wing of the militant fundamentalist movement. Through lectures and physical combat training, the girls learn what it means to be good Hindu women and how to fight against Islam, Christianity and Western influences by any means necessary. The Indian government says these camps promote terrorism and is trying to ban them. Until now, they have never been filmed.
At the camp we meet a dynamic Durgha Vahini youth leader who has already fought on the front lines and says she is willing to die for her beliefs. Yet her passionate desire to work for the cause sparks constant household friction; her father insists she will marry and soon.
Moving between the transformative action at both camps and the characters’ private lives, The World Before Her creates a lively, provocative portrait of the world’s largest democracy at a critical transitional moment. These young women may represent opposing extremes but in their hearts they share a common dream: to help shape the future of India as she meets the world before her.
Awards:
Best Documentary Feature, 2012 Tribeca Film Festival
Best Canadian Feature, 2012 Hot Docs Film Festival
Best Foreign Film, 2012 Traverse City Film Festival
Best Canadian Feature Documentary, 2012 Edmonton Int’l Film Festival
Best Canadian Documentary, 2012 Vancouver Film Critics Circle Awards
Nominee, Best Feature Length Documentary, 2013 Canadian Screen Awards
Nominee, Social Justice Award for Documentary Film, 2013 Santa Barbara Film Festival
Special Jury Mention, 2012 Guanajuato Film Festival
Special Jury Mention, 2012 Warsaw Film Festival
Special Jury Mention, 2012 San Diego Asian Film Festival
Special Jury Mention, Alliance of Women Film Journalists EDA Awards, 2012 St. Louis Int’l Film Festival
Canada’s Top Ten Films of 2012, TIFF Bell Lightbox
Runner Up, Best Documentary, 2012 Anchorage Int’l Film Festival
Second Best Feature Film, Int’l Digital Film Festival 2013
Top 10, Audience Choice, 2012 Tribeca Film Festival
Top 10, Audience Choice, 2012 Hot Docs Film Festival
Top 10, Audience Choice, 2012 Vancouver International Film Festival
Top 5, Audience Choice, 2012 Palo Alto Film Festival
A film by Nisha Pahuja
90 min | Canada | 2012
29 Jan 2015, 7 p.m. sharp
Everest Talkies, Frazer Town
Open to delegates. Passes available at venue.
Synopsis:
In the lobby of a modest Bombay hotel, 20 young women from across India arrive for an intense, month-long beauty boot camp. They are the hand-picked contestants for the Miss India pageant, the ultimate glamour event in a country that has gone mad for beauty contests. Winning the coveted title means instant stardom, a lucrative career path and, for some girls, freedom from the constraints of a patriarchal society.
But as the popularity of pageants has exploded, so have the controversies surrounding them.
Through dramatic verite action and unprecedented behind-the-scenes access, The World Before Her sweeps back the curtain to reveal the intimate stories of young women determined to win the crown and the forces that oppose them. Hindu fundamentalists view pageants and their “international” beauty standards as immoral and a symbol of the rapid Westernization of India; protests are common.
Yet amid pageant dazzle and heated rhetoric, filmmaker Nisha Pahuja ensures the faces and voices of India’s young women remain front stage centre.
As the contestants move through beauty boot camp, Pahuja travels to another corner of India to visit an annual camp for young girls run by the Durgha Vahini, the women’s wing of the militant fundamentalist movement. Through lectures and physical combat training, the girls learn what it means to be good Hindu women and how to fight against Islam, Christianity and Western influences by any means necessary. The Indian government says these camps promote terrorism and is trying to ban them. Until now, they have never been filmed.
At the camp we meet a dynamic Durgha Vahini youth leader who has already fought on the front lines and says she is willing to die for her beliefs. Yet her passionate desire to work for the cause sparks constant household friction; her father insists she will marry and soon.
Moving between the transformative action at both camps and the characters’ private lives, The World Before Her creates a lively, provocative portrait of the world’s largest democracy at a critical transitional moment. These young women may represent opposing extremes but in their hearts they share a common dream: to help shape the future of India as she meets the world before her.
Awards:
Best Documentary Feature, 2012 Tribeca Film Festival
Best Canadian Feature, 2012 Hot Docs Film Festival
Best Foreign Film, 2012 Traverse City Film Festival
Best Canadian Feature Documentary, 2012 Edmonton Int’l Film Festival
Best Canadian Documentary, 2012 Vancouver Film Critics Circle Awards
Nominee, Best Feature Length Documentary, 2013 Canadian Screen Awards
Nominee, Social Justice Award for Documentary Film, 2013 Santa Barbara Film Festival
Special Jury Mention, 2012 Guanajuato Film Festival
Special Jury Mention, 2012 Warsaw Film Festival
Special Jury Mention, 2012 San Diego Asian Film Festival
Special Jury Mention, Alliance of Women Film Journalists EDA Awards, 2012 St. Louis Int’l Film Festival
Canada’s Top Ten Films of 2012, TIFF Bell Lightbox
Runner Up, Best Documentary, 2012 Anchorage Int’l Film Festival
Second Best Feature Film, Int’l Digital Film Festival 2013
Top 10, Audience Choice, 2012 Tribeca Film Festival
Top 10, Audience Choice, 2012 Hot Docs Film Festival
Top 10, Audience Choice, 2012 Vancouver International Film Festival
Top 5, Audience Choice, 2012 Palo Alto Film Festival
