Leaving Home

Just released.

For Renu leaving home is different

Leaving home is what most of us do —
eventually. It's different for Renu. Can she fulfill her dreams of leaving her village home to become a teacher in the big city?

Most of India's 1.2 billion people live in villages. This documentary is about one of these villages—Rankhandi, 100 miles north of Delhi, with prime focus on Renu and her coming-of-age.




"Leaving Home" is about rural life, India, castes, marriage, weddings, family, motherhood, fatherhood—and change. And, as it develops, it is a film about women's rights.

As the film unfolds, many may be shocked by the restrictions on rights for teenage girls and women in the village. All of this is “normal”—and is documented in our new film—as we see Renu's coming of age in a way of life that many in other cultures consider to be one step up from slavery.

J. Michael Mahar, an American anthropologist, has been intermittently living in Rankhandi for over a half-century. Our guide and colorful and revealing story teller, he has seen the village move from the 18th to the 20th century before his eyes. He arranged our unusual access to those we filmed.

Nishu Varma, a journalist who is also our interpreter, talks with women with no men in hearing distance, and has revealing conversations never before in a film.

Jessie Epstein, Alan Jacobsen and Andrea Fantozzi did the filming along with Bob Richter. Amy Kessler is Editor, her first long form documentary.