India's Oscar hope: All about Shaunak Sen's 'All That Breathes'
Shaunak Sen's documentary All That Breathes has been in the buzz for its successful film festival run and has bagged many accolades around the world. This film is internationally co-produced by Sen, Aman Mann, and Teddy Leifer under the Rise Films banner. Recently, the documentary won four categories, including Best Feature, at International Documentary Association Awards and is currently eyeing an Oscar.
Why does this story matter?
Academy Awards aka Oscars are a prestigious award and a dream for every technician associated with films. India has not had a good run at the Oscars to date. Though some documentaries made on the Indian landscape have won Oscars in the past like Zana Briski and Ross Kaufmann's Born into Brothels (2004) and Rayka Zehtabchi's Period. End of Sentence (2018).
Kites falling prey to kites
The documentary revolves around two brothers—Mohammad Saud and Nadeem Shehzad—who are bodybuilder-turned-bird rescuers with their makeshift wildlife rehabilitation center. The duo has treated more than 20,000 kites over a decade. It also highlights how scavengers are important to maintain the food cycle and are reducing in number due to New Delhi's air pollution and getting hurt by kite strings—the ones used for recreation.
Accolades won to date
The film has won accolades including the Golden Eye Award at the Cannes Film Festival. It also won the Grand Jury Prize at the Sundance Film Festival and Grierson Award at the London Film Festival. Sen's documentary was at the Asia Pacific Screen Awards, Gotham Independent Film Awards, National Board of Review Awards, and Satellite Awards. There are many pending awards, including the Oscars.
More about the filmmaker
Sen is a film scholar and filmmaker who graduated in Mass Communication from AJK Mass Communication Research Centre, Jamia Millia Islamia. He also holds a Ph.D. from the School of Arts and Aesthetics at Jawaharlal Nehru University. He has earlier worked as an editor on Squad's Fall Guys, Old Town, and T&Lily. His first film as a writer-director was Cities of Sleep.
