Raising the Bar (film)

Last updated

Raising the Bar
Directed by Onir
Produced by Mitu Bhowmick Lange, e.motion21
Distributed byMind Blowing Films
Release date
  • August 2016 (2016-08)(Indian Film Festival Melbourne)
CountriesAustralia, India

Raising the Bar is a 2016 documentary film that follows six young individuals with Down syndrome from Australia and India who perform a dance routine at the World Down Syndrome Congress 2015 in Chennai, India. [1] The film is directed by Onir and co-produced by Mitu Bhowmick Lange and e.motion21, a non-profit Australian organisation.

Contents

The film won the Best Documentary award at the Melbourne City Independent Film Awards 2018 [2] [ better source needed ]. It was part of the official selection at the Maryland International Film Festival 2017 [3] and the Ethan Saylor Memorial Film Festival 2017. [4]

Synopsis

The film traces the journeys of six young individuals with Down syndrome and their families in India and Australia as they prepare to perform at the World Down Syndrome Congress 2015 in Chennai, India. As they prepare themselves, the documentary portrays their ordinariness and the challenges that they face while providing insight into the vastly different cultures and communities across the two countries. The film culminates with them performing and meeting each other at the congress.

Production

The film was shot in Melbourne, Kolhapur, Delhi, Agra, and Chennai in 2015.[ citation needed ]

Reception

Critical response

Raising The Bar was well-received by critics who praised it for its intimate camerawork [5] and "intrinsically moving" theme. [6]

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References

  1. "Ready to rock it on the world stage". Bendigo Advertiser. 14 August 2015. Retrieved 18 May 2018.
  2. "April 2018 Winners". mcifa. Retrieved 18 May 2018.
  3. "My Brother Nikhil maker Onir's debut documentary selected for Maryland film festival". Hindustan Times. 6 March 2017. Retrieved 18 May 2018.
  4. "Films – Ethan Saylor Memorial Film Festival". saylorfilmfest.com. Retrieved 18 May 2018.
  5. "Raising the Bar Movie Review". mid-day. 23 February 2018. Retrieved 18 May 2018.
  6. "Raising The Bar: Onir's documentary is about positivity in the face of Down Syndrome". Firstpost. Retrieved 18 May 2018.