HOT DOCS WORLD PREMIERE

A Sharp, Unfiltered Look at Love, Law,
and the Police Officers Who Mediate Marital Chaos

MetFilm presents

MARRIAGE COPS

A film by Shashwati Talukdar and Cheryl Hess

CLIP

World Premiere Screening
April 27, 2025 – 5:45PM
TIFF Lightbox – Cinema 3

2nd Screening
April 29, 2025 – 11:00AM
TIFF Lightbox – Cinema 2

Tickets Available Here

MARRIAGE COPS is a stunning feature documentary from directors Shashwati Talukdar and Cheryl Hess that offers an unprecedented look at the Women’s Helpline in Dehradun, India, where marriage mediation meets law enforcement in the most unexpected ways.

A co-production between India and the U.S., the 80-minute, Hindi-language with English subtitles film follows Sub-inspectors Sandhya and Krishna, two dedicated career officers with very different styles and a nose for bullshit.  They do their best to keep the peace in relationships that seem beyond repair—abusive spouses, deadbeat dads, cheating wives and interfering mothers-in- law.  These officers see it all.

With intimate access and a sharply crafted vérité approach, MARRIAGE COPS examines the intricate role of the state in the most personal aspects of its citizens’ lives. Directors Talukdar and Hess initially set out to answer a simple question, why do couples go to the police to solve their marriage problems, especially considering that the police are generally feared and avoided? but they quickly find themselves in a world of contradictions, power struggles, and raw human emotion. 

“What we discovered was far more complex than we expected,” say Directors Talukdar and Hess. “The police, despite being an arm of the state, often feel powerless when enforcing an institution where entire families and communities have a stake. There are no pure villains or pure victims in this story – just people trying to navigate a system that both empowers and constrains them.”

MARRIAGE COPS will have its world premiere in Toronto at the Hot Docs Canadian International Documentary Festival. The film is represented by MetFilm Sales for world sales and festival distribution.

Shashwati Talukdar – Co-director/Editor
Shashwati was born and raised in India. MARRIAGE COPS is her second documentary feature. She began her professional career in New York City as an assistant editor for Michael Moore, and later worked on projects for HBO, BBC, Lifetime, Sundance, and Cablevision. Her films have screened internationally, including at the Busan International Film Festival, the Kiasma Museum of Art in Helsinki, and the Whitney Biennial. Her work has received support from the Asian Cinema Fund in Busan, the Jerome Foundation, the New York State Council on the Arts, the Tribeca Foundation, and the India Foundation of the Arts among others. Shashwati has been awarded the James Yee Mentorship Award from the Center for Asian American Media and the Project Involve Fellowship from IFP (Gotham)/New York. She has an MFA in Film and Video Arts from Temple University, Philadelphia, and an MA in Mass Communications from Jamia Millia Islamia, New Delhi. She works as a director and editor between Taiwan and India.

Cheryl Hess – Co-director/Cinematographer
Cheryl is an award-winning filmmaker and cinematographer from Philadelphia. Her short documentary SHE GOT BALLS! was a finalist in the If/Then Shorts (Northeast) pitch competition and was recently awarded the Best Director Prize (short) at the Atlanta Docufest. Her work has been supported by the Tribeca Film Institute, The Knight Foundation, the Pew Charitable Trusts and many others. In 2018 Cheryl won the grand prize in the AIA Film Challenge for PAST/PRESENCE: SAVING THE SPRING GARDEN SCHOOL, a short she directed, shot, and edited. In 2022 she served as co-DP on Ufuoma Essi’s experimental 16mm documentary IS MY LIVING IN VAIN? which was awarded a Silver Bear at the Chicago International Film Festival. To inspire more women, who may have little presence in the online camera space, Cheryl recently launched her own YouTube Channel, ANALOG GIRLm, where she discusses working with motion picture cameras and other related topics.

Diana Chiawen Lee – Producer
Diana is a producer who focuses on human rights and social justice issues in Asia. Her recent doc THE CATCH won the Grand Prize, Best Doc, and Best Cinematography at the 2021 Taipei Film Awards. Her previous credits include BROKEN HARMONY (VOA, RTHK), THE BOSS (NHK, KBS, PTS), THE MACHINE (Knowledge Network, Discovery Asia); SMALL TALK (Teddy Award for Best Doc – 2017 Berlinale), THE PRIESTESS WALKS ALONE (Jury Award for Best Doc – 2017 Queer Screen). Diana produced her first fiction film MICKEY ON THE ROAD in 2020, which premiered at the Torino Film Festival and screened at over 80 international film festivals during the pandemic. Prior to producing, Diana worked for leading media arts organizations in the U.S., including Women Make Movies, CAAM, Arts Engine, and Asian CineVision. Diana received her master’s in media studies from The New School University.

MetFilm Sales (MFS) is part of the MetFilm Group, a vertically integrated studio that operates across Production, Sales and Distribution. MFS offers to producers’ a full-service representation, from packaging and pitching of projects, to helping with raising finance and pre-sales, to festival strategy and its implementation, marketing advice, and finally worldwide sales of all distribution rights across a multitude of media. Current titles include Brendan Kramer’s HOLDING LIAT, which won the Documentary Award at Berlinale,  Michael Premo’s Homegrown which premiered at the Venice Film Festival, Gar O’Rourke’s Sanatorium which premiered at CPH:DOX and Beat the Lotto, directed by Ross Whitaker.
MetFilm is part of the Arts Alliance group of companies, which also includes Garden Studios and Park Circus.