Aug 28 2025 to Aug 28 2025 6:30 p.m.

Where

Bangalore International Centre

7 4th Main Rd, Stage 2, Domlur 560071

Event Description

53 minutes | Urdu with English subtitles | 2020 | India

As a woman’s faith becomes her fire, what can stand in her way?

In the heart of Bhopal, where tradition runs deep and silence often surrounds resistance, Safia, a devout Muslim woman, quietly begins a revolution. When her husband invokes triple talaq and divorces her in her own absence, she turns to seek justice. 

Holy Rights is an intimate, unflinching documentary tracing Safia’s courageous journey as she navigates uncharted territory, confronting resistance and reshaping narratives that profoundly impact women’s lives. She challenges centuries of patriarchal tradition by training to become a Qazi – an interpreter and authority of Islamic personal law. Her decision, rooted in faith and a deep sense of justice, sets in motion a ripple effect among other Muslim women, who begin to reimagine their place in both religion and society.

The film unfolds over four years capturing landmark political shifts, the fight against the practice of triple talaq, and the quiet courage of women who refuse to be spoken for by religious authorities, political actors, or even well-meaning allies.

The screening will be followed by a discussion with filmmaker Farha Khatun and producer Priyanka More, who will be joining us online, and a Q&A with the audience.

Here is the trailer of the film.

In collaboration with:

Speakers

Farha Khatun
Filmmaker & Editor
Farha is an Indian filmmaker and editor trained in film editing at Roopkala Kendro, Kolkata. It is through the language of documentaries that she articulates her politics. In her films therefore she engages with stories of marginalised – people whose stories would otherwise get lost in a world where mostly power speaks. Through her lens thus one comes across the story of a forgotten trans footballer, story of a woman from Bhopal who challenges patriarchy within her community and defies norms to become an activist in her mid 50s, story of a lone fighter who builds a forest, story of people engaged in a lost profession. She is a two-time recipient of the President’s National Film Award in India for the Best film on Social Issues for her directorial debut ‘I am Bonnie’ and her first feature-length film ‘Holy Rights’. The film was broadcasted on KLIK Indonesia and SBS Australia. Both films have bagged prestigious awards and were widely screened. Her personal journey as a woman, made her focus more on women’s lives, hence, gender serves as a critical lens in her work. Farha co-founded the Bitchitra Collective, a support network for women and non-binary filmmakers.

Priyanka More
Producer & Founder of Mosaic in Films
Priyanka More is a National Award-winning producer based in Mumbai, with over a decade of experience in the Indian film industry. A graduate in Mass Media from KET’s V.G. Vaze College, she also holds a filmmaking diploma from the New York Film Academy. She is the founder and producer at Mosaic in Films, a company focused on narrative and documentary cinema.

Priyanka has worked across formats, including serving as line producer on the Cannes-winning ad film Breakthrough, and producing numerous short fiction films that have been screened at national and international festivals. Her acclaimed documentary Holy Rights has won several prestigious accolades, including the Indian National Film Award, the Laadli Media Award, and Most Impactful Film of the Year at the Vancouver Women in Film Festival, among others.

Currently, she is producing three feature-length narrative films — Grasslands, which has broken records by screening at over 133 international film festivals and winning more than 119 awards; MaRa, a Bollywood thriller starring Vijay Varma, ready for its world premiere; and Daayre, now in pre-production. She is also working on two feature-length documentaries: I Am Not Home and Nasreen – A Wild Rose, both in post-production.

Sunanda Bhat
Filmmaker
Sunanda is a Bangalore based filmmaker. Her interest in textures that emerge as ‘ordinary’ peoples’ lives intersect with layers of landscape, continue to shape her work. Her films have screened at IDFA, Jean Rouch International Film Festival, Paris, Planet in Focus Film Festival, Toronto, International Film Festival of India among several others. She was an artist-in-residence at the Kochi Muziris Biennale and as is part of the collective Vikalp Bengaluru, committed to the screening of non-fiction cinema in the city.