Documentary
Black Sand wins best documentary at Best Film Awards
MUMBAI: Dr Sohan Roy’s directorial Black Sand has won the Best Documentary honour in the Nature Documentary Category at Best Film Awards. The documentary film is produced by Abhini Sohan Roy under the banner of Aries telecasting, and was also officially selected for Best Documentary Award, L’Age d’Or International Arthouse Film Festival and Rajasthan Film Festival 2021.
Based out of London, Best Film Awards is an organisation that brings IMDb Monthly Qualifying Film Festival with live screening once a month. It also makes an annual film for filmmakers around the world.
The documentary showcases the horror caused by the irrevocable damage caused by mining in Alappad, which turned into a graveyard far from the scenic beauty it used to be. Alappad is a coastal region, where consistent plundering of the black sand resource through mining has engulfed half of the inhabitants’ land and homes. Roy zeroed in on this subject for the documentary after realising the grave importance of bringing the intensity of this environmental threat to light. A compassionate person concerned about social and environmental well-being, he has worked relentlessly in numerous ways to address the issues faced.
Dr Roy is well-known for his Hollywood movie DAM 999, which contended for the 2011 Oscars and received five selections in three categories. He has also been instrumental in sending 24 Indian movies including Pullimurugan, Kayamkulam Kochunni, Aickarakkonathe Bhishaguguranmaar, etc which all contented for Oscars in the Best Picture Category in the last few years.
Documentary video Link:
https://vimeo.com/474663719/7779f72d3c
Documentary
Netflix and Warner Music ink landmark documentary deal
The streaming giant has just unlocked one of the richest vaults in music history. Its rivals should be worried
CALIFORNIA AND NEW YORK: Netflix and Warner Music Group have signed an exclusive multi-year deal to produce documentary series and films drawn from the label’s storied artist roster, the companies announced on Friday — a move that hands the streaming platform access to one of the most formidable catalogues in music history.
Warner Music Group represents legends including David Bowie, Cher, Fleetwood Mac, Aretha Franklin and Joni Mitchell, alongside contemporary superstars such as Charli XCX, Coldplay and Bruno Mars. That is a staggering breadth of material for a platform hungry for prestige content and subscriber growth to match.
Under the agreement, Warner Music will work with Unigram, the production company aligned with the label, which will serve as the studio for its long-form projects. Each title will be developed in collaboration with the artists themselves or their estates, ensuring the kind of intimate access that turns a documentary into an event.
The deal reflects an intensifying race between music-rights owners and streaming platforms eager to turn deep catalogues into premium visual content. Music documentaries have become a vehicle for fan-driven, culturally resonant programming — a trend underscored by Taylor Swift’s “Eras Tour” film, which grossed over $260 million globally and reminded every platform chief just how lucrative the genre can be.
Netflix already boasts formidable credentials in music storytelling, with “Homecoming: A Film by Beyoncé” and “Quincy” among its highest-profile releases. The Warner deal sharpens that edge considerably. Rival platforms have not been idle: Disney+ has released “The Beach Boys”, while Max has drawn attention with “Stax: Soulsville U.S.A.” Apple Music, meanwhile, has pushed into original content through its Apple Music Live series, producing documentaries and livestreamed concerts featuring Harry Styles and Billie Eilish.
The battle for music’s visual soul, then, is well and truly on. Netflix has just made its boldest move yet.
