This year “All That Breathes” became the first film to win both Sundance’s Grand Jury Prize (World Cinema) and Cannes’ Documentary Prize. Directed by Shaunak Sen, the documentary follows two brothers in Delhi on their journey to protect a bird known as the black kite in an urban environment overrun with pollution and civil violence. And now, before its theatrical release, it gets another festival screening at the New York Film Festival.
Critics loved “All That Breathes” at its world premiere at Sundance (read our review here), and praised the movie for its handling of difficult themes, stunning cinematography, and thoughtful subjects that ultimately make Sen’s documentary a life-affirming moviegoing experience.
In an interview with The Curb, Sen described the experience of winning both prizes as a whirlwind, stating that “We’re all beside ourselves with joy. I’m absolutely exhausted answering the question, “How do you feel?” It’s not a simple emotion of happiness. There’s a fair degree of positive stress, as they say, because you’re constantly dealing with 999 notifications on social media. It’s all of that. So no complaints, of course it’s fantastic. But trying to nuance the emotion more than just simply being “Great, I’m on top of the moon.” I think it’s a bit more than that.”
Here’s the film’s official synopsis:
In one of the world’s most populated cities, cows, rats, monkeys, frogs, and hogs jostle cheek-by-jowl with people. Here, two brothers fall in love with a bird–the black kite. From their makeshift bird hospital in their tiny basement, the “kite brothers” care for thousands of these mesmeric creatures that drop daily from New Delhi’s smog-choked skies. As environmental toxicity and civil unrest escalate, the relationship between this Muslim family and the neglected kite forms a poetic chronicle of the city’s collapsing ecology and rising social tensions.
Produced by Sen, Aman Mann, and Teddy Leifer, and presented in association with HBO Documentary Films, “All That Breathes” plays at the New York Film Festival before it releases in select theatres on October 21. Watch a trailer for the documentary below.
