Ramesh Sharma’s new 100-minute documentary on the 1971 Bangladesh Liberation War was selected for a special screening at KIFF 2025. Chronicles of the Forgotten Genocide: The Kissinger Doctrine highlights "human suffering and how morality was traded for power".
Reflecting on what compelled him to make the film, the six-time National Award-winning filmmaker said: “I would call it a story of great injustice that was seen by the world but forgotten. Every time we talk about genocide, it seems to be everything that has happened in the Holocaust! After the Second World War, this was one of the greatest tragedies. While studying and researching this, I began to realise that this amnesia is created by the Western media. This is American imperialism at its work because America was complicit in this genocide. I thought this needs a study that goes beyond Bangladesh. American power in the guise of the Cold War had been fighting a proxy battle all over. It happened in Vietnam, Cambodia, Chile....”
The poster of 'Chronicles of the Forgotten Genocide: The Kissinger Doctrine'
In his storytelling, Sharma uses a political lens to focus on narratives of socio-political injustices. Research has been crucial for this film, and it took him beyond borders. Talking about the research, he said: “It took me to Bangladesh, America. Most of the archival material that was there in Bangladesh was destroyed after the killing of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman. We used a lot of AI regeneration of those moments for visual impact while not distorting history. I was lucky that there were people who were deeply involved, like Germaine Greer.... I managed to get audio from the archives of Melbourne University and tapes from the Richard Nixon library and other sources, Gary Bass's The Blood Telegram... we found a telegram from Henry Kissinger to the ambassador who was in Bangladesh in 1975… those telegrams were very important for me because that is evidence… there’s a lot of forensic detail in the film.”
Talking further about his research on America’s role in the genocide and why he connected it to the contemporary Gaza crisis, the Emmy-nominated filmmaker said: “The Gaza crisis could have easily been sorted out because it is American ammunition, again, that was used by Israel… self-defence doesn’t mean that you kill children and you blast off hospitals and you kill people. I chose Henry Kissinger because I feel that people can relate to it. And it is not just one president or two presidents. It is a policy that has been going on since 1953 or let’s say after 1947… the most important thing for me was to get the real material, the smoking gun, which is talking to people who had evidence… I managed to track down Scott Butcher, Sam Hoskinson, who was working then.”
Chronicles of the Forgotten Genocide was also screened at Prithvi Theatre on November 24. Talking about documentary making in India, Sharma said: “Today, India is one of the few countries that really produces some fantastic documentaries. Unfortunately, they’re not widely shown in India. My documentary Ahimsa was shown all over the world... but in India, it was not shown. So, I’m now trying to get it dubbed into Indian languages. I hope that somebody will show this documentary on streaming platforms or take it to schools and universities for discussion.”