Thiruvananthapuram, Aug 17 (UNI) Acclaimed documentary filmmaker Rakesh Sharma has been selected for the Lifetime Achievement Award at the 17th International Documentary and Short Film Festival of Kerala (IDSFFK), organised by the Kerala State Chalachitra Academy.
The award, comprising a cash prize of ₹2 lakh, a sculpture, and a citation, will be presented at the festival to be held from August 22 to 27, 2025, across the Kairali, Sree, and Nila theatres in Thiruvananthapuram.
Sharma is being honoured for his transformative influence on Indian documentary cinema, his unwavering commitment to social justice, and his fearless filmmaking. As part of the tribute, a selection of his documentaries will be screened during the festival.
Widely regarded as one of the most uncompromising voices in Indian non-fiction cinema, Sharma is best known for his 2004 documentary Final Solution, which examined the 2002 Gujarat riots and the rise of Hindutva politics.
The film has been showcased at more than 120 international festivals and premiered at the Berlin International Film Festival, where it became the first Indian documentary to win the Best Debut Director Award.
Initially denied screening clearance by the Censor Board, the film was later certified without cuts following widespread public protests. It also won the Special Jury Award in the non-feature category at the 2005 National Film Awards.
Sharma began his film career as an assistant to veteran filmmaker Shyam Benegal in the Doordarshan series Bharat Ek Khoj. He later worked on several projects for Doordarshan, BBC, and Channel 4, and played a key role in the early years of Indian satellite television by creating shows for Channel V, Star Plus, and Vijay TV.
Returning to independent documentary filmmaking, he directed Aftershocks: The Rough Guide to Democracy, a study of resistance in post-earthquake Gujarat, which won the 2002 Robert Flaherty Award.
Over the past two decades, his documentaries have focused on exposing the politics of hate, filmed extensively in Gujarat, Maharashtra, and other regions. His works have been screened in over 100 cities worldwide, at leading universities, and broadcast on international networks including BBC, NHK, DR2, and YLE.
After a long hiatus due to autoimmune-related health issues, Sharma is now preparing to complete several unfinished projects, including Final Solution Revisited, the sequel to his landmark documentary.
Instituted in 2018, the IDSFFK Lifetime Achievement Award has previously been conferred on Anand Patwardhan (2018), Madhusree Dutta (2019), Ranjan Palit (2021), Reena Mohan (2022), Deepa Dhanraj (2023), and the Bedi Brothers — Naresh and Rajesh Bedi (2024).
