Grants & Awards

About the Film:

In Bombay, twenty young women compete for the Miss India pageant, the ultimate glamour event in a country that has gone mad for beauty contests. Winning the coveted title means instant stardom, a lucrative career path and, for some girls, freedom from the constraints of a patriarchal society. In another corner of India, an annual camp for young girls is being run by the Durgha Vahini, the women’s wing of the militant Hindu fundamentalist movement. Moving between the transformative action in both places and the characters’ private lives, The World Before Her creates a lively, provocative portrait of the world’s largest democracy at a critical transitional moment.

About the Filmmakers:

Nisha Pahuja (Writer/Director/Producer) – Nisha Pahuja is a documentary filmmaker, researcher and writer. She recently co-wrote and directed Diamond Road, a three part series on the global diamond trade which explores the diverse realities of people whose lives revolve around this gem – from the impoverished miners of Sierra Leone to the wealthy dealers of New York. The series has been broadcast on ZDF/Arte; NHK; TVO; History and Discovery Times among others.  It received the 2008 Gemini award for best documentary series. The feature version of Diamond Road premiered at IDFA in 2007. Pahuja’s Bollywood Bound, has screened at numerous film festivals and was widely telecast around the world. It was nominated for a Gemini in 2002. Her print writing has appeared in Elle magazine and various anthologies. She has recently done some writing for filmmakers Deepa Mehta and David Hamilton. Ed Barreveld/Storyline Entertainment (Producer) – Ed Barreveld has been making films since 1986 when he first joined Canada’s Oscar-winning National Film Board’s Ontario Studio. He has been an independent filmmaker since 1996, producing documentaries for broadcasters such as the CBC, BBC, A&E, and TVAsahi. In 2000, Barreveld co-founded Storyline Entertainment Inc. and produced the award winning feature documentaries Aftermath: The Remnants of War and Shipbreakers.  Since 2004, Barreveld has been the sole principal of Storyline Entertainment.  Barreveld’s projects, Hitler’s Canadians and The Secret of the Snake Goddess (a Canada/Germany/Greece co-production) aired in 2007 and his feature documentary Tiger Spirit premiered at Hot Docs 2008 and won the 2009 Donald Brittain Gemini for best Social/ Political Documentary.  He released It’s a Teen’s World: Wired for Sex, Lies and Power in 2009 along with My Toxic Baby which premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival. Cornelia Principe (Producer) – Cornelia has been working in documentary production for over 15 years, starting out as a broadcaster, and then moving to independent producer and director. Currently in production on the one-off Grinder, recent projects include the feature The Rise and Fall of the Grumpy Burger, which premiered at Hot Docs 2008 and the 2008 Gemini award-winning (Best Documentary Series) Diamond Road, which she Co-produced for TVOntario, History Television, Discovery Times and Arte/ZDF. Other credits include: Producer for PTV Productions on the series Resolutions for Discovery Health and The Life Channel; Directed and Co-produced Poverty, Chastity, Obedience, with Producer Andrea Nemtin in co-production with the NFB; Co-produced Divorce What I See with Producer/ Director Sun-Kyung Yi which premiered at Hot Docs 2001; and worked with Emmy award-winning Producer/ Director Shelley Saywell on several of her acclaimed documentaries including, A Child’s Century of War which was short-listed for an Oscar and Legacy of Terror. From 1993-1997 Cornelia was the Associate Producer for TVO’s social-political documentary strands The View From Here and Human Edge. Andrew Cohen (Executive Producer) – Andrew is an independent filmmaker and writer. He is Contributing editor for Art Asia Pacific magazine writing on art and politics in China. He Produced and Co-wrote the award winning Dealers Among Dealers (1995)–PBS (POV), Channel 4 UK–An insider’s look into the insulated world of the New York diamond industry and its history from Maiden Lane to 47th Street. He also Co-wrote and Produced Killing Kasztner: The Jew who Dealt with the Nazis (2008)–Toronto Film Festival, BBC– In Nazi occupied Hungary, Kasztner, a Jew, dared to negotiate face to face with the architect of the Final Solution, Adolf Eichmann, saved thousands – and paid with his life. He has directed, written and produced Out of Ruins (Post Production) and The Void (In production). He is the executive producer of The World Before Her and Associate Producer of Ai Weiwei: Never Sorry.

Festival & Award Highlights:

Tribeca 2012 – World Premiere, Jury Award for Best Documentary
HotDocs 2012 – Best Canadian Feature
SilverDocs 2012
Traverse City Film Festival 2012 – Best Foreign Film
IDFA 2012