Adithya Sambamurthy

I’m a director working across current affairs, investigative and observational documentaries- and the occasional creative short- for broadcasters and digital platforms. As someone who grew up in an immigrant Tamil family in Germany, I am drawn to stories of displacement, identity formation, civil rights and citizenship. So “The Journalist And The Jailer” seems like a natural extension of my previous work and interests. But in terms of form and editorial voice, it marks a significant evolution away from some of the conventions I have come to rely on. For this film, Luna Watfa and I have made an intentional decision to eschew a filmmaker-subject relationship, and opted instead to collaborate as director and journalist. She is uniquely positioned to tell this story, and as a print journalist, she knows how to report and write it for the page. I see my role as providing editorial and creative direction to shape the narrative for the screen, but I want to do so in ways that help her preserve her voice.