Documentary
Indian documentary breaks record for longest run in Indian cinemas
MUMBAI: Sundance Grand Jury Prize-nominated Indian film Fire in the Blood has been held over for a fourth week at PVR Phoenix in Mumbai, thus becoming the first-ever non-fiction film to achieve a four-week commercial theatrical run in India.
“This is a dream come true and a real testament to the fact that audiences in India are hungering for new and different types of films,” said producer-director Dylan Mohan Gray. “The word of mouth has been just incredible, and definitely the key factor in sustaining interest in Fire in the Blood,” he added. “I get e-mails, especially from students, every single day telling me how blown away they were by the movie and how they’ve prodded their friends to rush to go see it while it’s still running.”
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Fire in the Blood tells the story of a unique and eclectic group of people who came together from India and other parts of the world to stop the ‘Crime of the Century’, whereby low-cost AIDS medicine was being deliberately withheld by Western pharmaceutical companies and governments from reaching Africa and other parts of the developing world, resulting in a minimum of ten million needless deaths. The film has won three major international awards, including the Prize for Political Film in Hamburg in early October, and has been consistently listed as an outside Oscar contender in the documentary feature category by The Hollywood Reporter and other US industry sources.
PVR Joint Managing Director Sanjeev Kumar Bijli, said “We feel a huge amount of satisfaction in seeing our film Fire in the Blood break the record for most consecutive weeks in theatrical release by a documentary in India. PVR Director’s Rare has been the standard-bearer for bringing world-class non-fiction and art house films to Indian audiences, and it is a source of immense pride for us to see audiences responding so strongly and keeping a film like this in the cinemas, fuelled by strong word of mouth and outstanding critical acclaim.”
Fire in the Blood is narrated by Oscar-winning actor William Hurt.
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.
