The documentary is filmed in Haryana which borders the capital, New Delhi. The state's deep-rooted patriarchal norms have led to illegal yet rampant gender-selective abortions resulting in the nearly complete absence of girls in the state’s villages. This, in turn, has led to bride buying/bride kidnapping traffic and provoked an unprecedented number of crimes against women. While shedding light on these prevalent issues, the film focuses on ordinary men from patriarchal rural India who are doing the extraordinary to change the narrative on gender equality and gender justice.
People featured
The documentary features Jitender Chattar, an ordinary farmer who in a traditional marriage arranged by parents defies society by marrying Kusam, who was gang-raped by 8 men. The film follows Jitender's unshakeable resolve to secure justice for his wife. The film also follows Sunil Jaglan, a village chief, and father of two daughters, who are fighting for the inclusion of women in the male-dominated areas of local governance despite detractors filing false lawsuits against him. Also featured in the documentary is Baljit Singh, the Chief of the largest and most influential rural clan in India who is daring to challenge, the age-old tradition of male dominance, at the cost of his own authority and popularity.
The documentary was shot in Haryana over a period of 2 years. The film team succeeded in getting men from the male-dominated panchayats to speak up on gender justice and at the same time question men of the most patriarchal state on gender rights. In the process, Vibha Bakshi and her team identified and followed the legal, societal, and emotional battles of Kusam, a gang rape survivor, and her husband in their fight for justice.
Release
Impact
In April 2019, all Consul Generals of the World in Mumbai jointly hosted the special screening of Son Rise at the National Museum of Indian Cinema, Mumbai. Subsequently, for the International Day of the Girl Child, in October 2019. the Diplomatic Corps in Delhi - comprising Ambassadors and High Commissioners of 15 Missions - screened Son Rise and pledged their support for gender equality. The screening was held at the historic Siri Fort in New Delhi and opened by the Chairperson of The National Commission for Women in India, Rekha Sharma, and UN Women Head, Nishtha Satyam. The teaser of Son Rise was unveiled at the Spikes Asia Awards, Singapore, in September 2019, followed by a keynote address by Bakshi, director and producer of Son Rise at the IPG Women leadership conference. The conference was hosted by Micheal Roth, Chairman of IPG - the world's largest organizations of advertising and marketing services. In September 2019, Son Rise was screened for students of 100 colleges in Mumbai followed by workshops conducted by the National Service Scheme of Mumbai University. Son Rise kicked off the inaugural Bloomberg Equality Summit in Mumbai, the first in Asia, in October 2019. The screening was followed by the activation of the UN's HeForShe movement in India. NASSCOM, India’s chamber of commerce for the Tech Industry, along with 75 Tech leaders, jointly screened Son Rise in October 2019. As part of UN's global16 days of Activism, in November 2019, the leadership of Haryana Police organized screenings of Son Rise across the force to gender sensitize the police. In January 2020, Son Rise had a special screening at the Women in Design 2020 International Conference where over 500 architects and design professionals, from across five continents, came together in Mumbai, India. YPO, the Global Leadership Community of Chief Executives, screened Son Rise in January 2020 to its group of YPO members followed by a panel discussion on making men equal partners for a gender-equal world. For International Women's Day, a special screening of Son Rise was organised for the Punjab Police to intiate a Public-Police partnership for women safety. This was organised by Consulate of Canada-Chandigarh, GNDU and Majha House. Dr Sukhchain Singh Gill, Commissioner of Police Amritsar and Shivdular Singh Dhillon, District Commissioner, Amritsar addressed the audience.
