3rd I

Film

YES MADAM, SIR

Yes Madam, Sir

7:00pm
Sunday, November 8
Castro Theatre, San Francisco

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Director: Megan Donegan
Country/Year: India/Australia, 2008
Running Time: 95 mins
Language: English and Hindi with English subtitles

Director Megan Doneman in person
Kiran Bedi in person

Kiran Bedi, the first woman to join the Indian Police Service, is a controversial and inspiring figure in recent Indian history. A former professional athlete with interests in social issues, Bedi’s career has been marked by moments of physical courage, institutional innovation, and patriarchal prejudices. Given assignments by the male-dominated leadership of the police service meant to marginalize and embarrass her, Bedi succeeded where others failed through her commitment to duty and social justice. Bedi’s work has been celebrated around the world and vilified by those threatened by a woman’s success in a male dominated field. Director Megan Doneman lived with Bedi on and off for almost a decade, gaining unparalleled access to her subject. Powerfully narrated by Helen Mirren, Doneman’s film ...introduces audiences to Bedi’s extraordinary, ground-breaking life and work. - Indian Film Festival of Los Angeles

A compelling documentary which follows Kiran Bedi as she becomes the first woman to join the Indian Police Service. Unpopular with her male counterparts, Bedi single-handedly fights back three thousand Sikh militants with a wooden stick during the Punjab separatist riots. When this feat makes international headlines Bedi is judged to be a threat to the male-dominated powers. Reassigned and placed in charge of the overcrowded and notoriously corrupt Tihar Jail, Bedi again garners international acclaim for establishing educational, medical, spiritual and yoga (Vipasana) programs for the inmates. Bedi is then sent to the failing police academy and before long transforms the corrupt academy into a respected training institution. - Nanci Herbst, Santa Barbara Film Festival

Yes Madam, Sir