The Hour of Lynching is a 2019 film is a powerful and shocking story of a nation beset by communalism and majoritarian Hindu nationalism, It exposes attacks against Muslim dairy farmers by Hindu vigilantes. These mobs have set themselves upon Muslims on the accusation of trafficking cows – a sacred symbol for Hindus – for slaughter.
The film is a harrowing account of one family’s grief as the result of ‘cow vigilantism’ and their struggle for justice, amid terrorising Hindu nationalism – led and championed by the state apparatus. Set in a remote village in India, The Hour of Lynching sheds light on a global problem of communities turning on ‘the other’ and sometimes with extreme violence.
About the Filmmakers: Amit Madheshiya and Shirley Abraham
Amit Madheshiya is known for his award-winning films is a director, producer, writer, and photographer. He works as an independent photographer and is based in Mumbai. He began working on the Travelling Cinema Project in 2008. The photographs from these projects won the World Press Photo in 2011, the World Photography award in 2009 and 2011, and the Grand Prize at the Humanity Photo Awards in 2009. In 2010, he received a fellowship from the National Foundation of India for his work on the migrant children living in Mumbai, and his works on India’s visual culture is supported by a fellowship from Tasveer Ghar.
Shirley Abraham is a filmmaker and a judge at the Oscars. She grew up in Bhopal pursued her post-graduation in Mass Communication at AJK Mass communication centre in Jamia Millia Islamia. Abraham started realising her true passion for films and she wanted to be a filmmaker so she along with her batchmate Amit Madheshiya directed a documentary and made the film, The Cinema Travellers, which was a great success. Shirley got selected to be one of the Judges for the Oscar in 2020. Now she owns a production house with Madheshiya. Abraham has directed documentaries for Doordarshan, The Guardian, and AI Jazeera English.
