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DirecTV, Brainstorm Media partner for docu
MUMBAI: US pay TV service provider DirecTV‘s Audience Network has announced ‘Something to Talk About‘.
This is a series of socially and culturally relevant documentaries presented in association with Brainstorm Media, beginning in October on DirecTV.
In certain US cities, the films will be screened in theaters starting later this month and, in select locations, will include live discussions following the screenings.
The 12-part series includes ‘Battle For Brooklny‘ on Saturday, 20 October at 9 pm ET/PT, which will be followed by ‘Big Boys Gone Bananas‘.Each documentary will include a special, hosted introduction and will conclude with a filmmaker interview that provides an update on the current state of the documentary issue.
The films will also be available on DirecTV on Demand, DirecTV Everywhere, on home video and via electronic sell-thru.
DirecTV VP Entertainment, GM of audience network, n3D Patty Ishimoto said, “At Audience Network, we have had success in providing our customers with critically acclaimed, award-winning dramas and comedies. With Something to Talk About, we are going even further with diverse and thought-provoking documentaries that will generate a spark among our viewers and engage them in a dialogue about the relevant, impactful events and topics these films address.”
Brainstorm Media president Meyer Shwarzstein said, “Our team has been perfecting this idea for the past few years and we are thrilled that DirecTV has come on board. With their commitment to documentaries, their sophisticated audience and their willingness to support the filmmakers and movies, we couldn‘t be happier.”
‘Battle For Brooklyn‘ is a look at the very public and passionate fight waged by owners and residents facing condemnation of their property to make way for the controversial Atlantic Yards project, a massive plan to build sixteen skyscrapers and a basketball arena for the New Jersey Nets in the heart of Brooklyn.
Shot over seven years and compiled from almost 500 hours of footage, it is a tale of how far people will go to fight for what they believe in. The film is a character-driven verite that also addresses the broader social, economic, and political ramifications of condemnation and urban planning through interactions with individuals from all sides of the issue.
The film is set to open theatrically on 25 September just before the arena, Barclay‘s Center, opens on 28 September. The film, which highlights speeches by Mayor Michael Bloomberg, architect Frank Gehry, Jay Z, Bruce Ratner, Steve Buscemi and others, is a primer on grassroots activism that will inspire people to look deeper into the stories that affect their lives.
In 2009, Swedish documentary filmmaker Fredrik Gertten‘s film ‘Banansi* – recounting the lawsuit that twelve Nicaraguan plantation workers successfully brought against the fruit giant Dole Food Company – was selected for competition by the Los Angeles Film Festival. Just before the world premiere of the film, Gertten received word that the festival had decided to remove Bananas!* from competition.
The resultant legal and public relations battle with Dole Food Company is the focus of ‘Big Boys Gone Bananas!*, a classic David vs Goliath story – but it is more about freedom of speech and what happens to a documentary filmmaker when he goes up against a large corporation such as Dole Foods and how far Dole will go to shift the focus off of them and onto the filmmaker. Media spin, PR scare tactics, dirty tricks, lawsuits, and corporate bullying come into play to try and destroy the filmmaker. But, it is the people who ultimately prevail, thus creating a cautionary tale and a real life-lesson learning experience.
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Inshorts Group chief Deepit Purkayastha joins IAB video council for Southeast Asia and India
The co-founder and chief executive of the short-form content platform has been inducted into the IAB SEA+India Video Council, giving India a stronger voice in shaping digital video frameworks
NOIDA: India has long been the world’s most chaotic, multilingual and mobile-first digital market. Now, one of its most prominent short-video executives is getting a seat at the table where the rules are written.
Deepit Purkayastha, co-founder and chief executive of Inshorts Group, has been selected as a member of the IAB SEA+India Video Council for 2026. Run by the Interactive Advertising Bureau, the council brings together senior leaders from Southeast Asia and India to shape standards, best practices and measurement frameworks for the fast-evolving video and digital advertising ecosystem.
The timing is pointed. According to the IAMAI-Kantar Internet in India Report 2025, over 588 million Indians are now consuming short-video content, with growth increasingly driven by rural and non-metro audiences. India’s active internet user base has crossed 950 million, with 57 per cent of users now coming from rural markets. Yet the frameworks that govern how video consumption is measured and monetised were largely designed for single-language, Western markets and have struggled to keep pace with the scale, diversity and complexity of India’s digital landscape.
Purkayastha is no stranger to these debates. He already serves on the AI Council at Marketing and Media Alliance India and as co-chair of the Digital Entertainment Committee at the Internet and Mobile Association of India. His induction into the IAB SEA+India Video Council extends that influence into the global video standards arena.
Inshorts Group sits squarely at the intersection of these forces. Its flagship product, Inshorts, India’s highest-rated short news app, reaches 12 million active users with 60-word news summaries. Its sister platform, Public App, reaches 80 million monthly active users across more than 700 districts and 12 languages, serving communities that most global platforms barely register.
Purkayastha said the opportunity was about building something more representative. “India today sits at the centre of the global video ecosystem, but the frameworks that define how value is created and measured have not always kept pace with the realities of our market,” he said. “Being part of the IAB SEA+India Video Council is an opportunity to contribute to a more representative and future-ready approach, one that accounts for diversity in language, context, and user intent.”
As a council member, Purkayastha will contribute to shaping regional standards across video advertising, measurement and platform governance, with a focus on frameworks that are native to India’s multilingual, mobile-first ecosystem rather than imported from global benchmarks designed elsewhere.
For years, India has been content to play by rules written for other markets. Purkayastha’s induction is a signal that it is done waiting to be consulted and ready to start writing them.
