A feature-length documentary produced by a Mumbai-based company has been selected for the World Cinema Documentary Competition at the ongoing Sundance Film Festival in Park City, Utah. “Fire in the Blood” is also nominated for the coveted Grand Jury Prize.

“It is a unique achievement for an Indian film to be selected for this competitive section at what is considered to be the world's leading showcase for independent cinema,” writer, director and producer Dylan Mohan Gray, was quoted in a press release as saying.

According to the festival website, Sundance received 12,146 submissions this year, including over 4,000 feature-length films. Of these, only 12 films each from the United States and from around the world were selected for the competition.
According to the press release, “Fire in the Blood” is the story of how Western pharmaceutical companies and governments aggressively blocked access to low-cost AIDS drugs for countries in Africa and the improbable group of people who decided to fight back.

Gray, who described the actions as “the crime of the century,” said he felt compelled to make the film after he learned that there was “not a single film or even book in circulation which told this endlessly fascinating and important story.”
The film has received contributions from global figures such as Bill Clinton, Desmond Tutu and Joseph Stieglitz, the press release said.

"Getting a film selected for the Sundance Film Festival is an immense honor and a tremendous achievement for Dylan, who has spent five years making this film," Christopher Hird, executive producer, was quoted as saying.
“Fire in the Blood” will be released in select cinemas in the United Kingdom and Ireland on Feb. 22. Theatrical release in India is planned for April 5.