AN INSIGNIFICANT MAN

Directed by Khushboo Ranka, Vinay Shukla

Discoveries / India / 2016 / documentary / 96 mins / English, Hindi with English subtitles / HD

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AN INSIGNIFICANT MAN

UltraStar Mission Valley
Monday, April 24, 2017 5:50 pm

Description

Official Selection, 2016 Toronto International Film Festival
Official Selection, 2016 Busan International Film Festival
Audience Choice Award (Documentary), 2017 Indian Film Festival of Los Angeles
Official Selection, 2016 BFI London Film Festival

With utility scams and widespread political corruption plaguing the two major parties in India, activist Arvind Kejriwal took to the streets to call for a new political voice. Before long though, Kejriwal realized that he had to be that new political alternative: a third option that is truly populist and independent. But as one commentator asked, can an idealist really succeed as a politician?

Following Kejriwal through his campaign to become Chief Minister of Delhi, filmmakers Khushboo Ranka and Vinay Shukla document with extraordinary access the behind-the-scenes strategy meetings, observing the negotiations between leaders who have won over crowds for their non-negotiables. On a platform of lower power and water costs and a commitment to anti-corruption, Kejriwal becomes a media sensation, and Ranka and Shukla are right there, revealing the mood around the cameras, capturing behind-the-scenes footage of a PR video being edited, even spying in on Kejriwal watching a Bollywood film inspired by his own activism. AN INSIGNIFICANT MAN is an engrossing record of the mechanisms of social change and the fortitude needed to enact it. –Brian Hu

Co-Presented by: SABA-SD