Sundance 2022: Shaunak Sen’s All That Breathes wins World Cinema Grand Jury Prize for Documentary

Shaunak Sen’s All That Breathes has won the World Cinema Grand Jury Prize for Documentary at the recently concluded Sundance Film Festival.

Sen’s documentary, set in a turbulent Delhi, looks at two brothers and their devotion to protect the city's black kite population.

The jury for the World Cinema Documentary Competition, Emilie Bujès, Patrick Gaspard and Dawn Porter, awarded Sen’s documentary with their accolades.

Bujès said, “This poetic film delivers an urgent political story while constructing a singular and loving portrait of protagonists resisting seemingly inevitable ecological disaster — with humorous touches punctuated by unsentimental depiction of the animal kingdom. For maintaining its suspenseful tension when portraying the interior struggles of its characters and the contradictions in spirituality and materialism they confront, we present the [World Cinema] Grand Jury Prize to All That Breathes.”

The Indian filmmaker was pleasantly shocked and said in a video statement, “I'm absolutely speechless and we are utterly, utterly beaming. The film simply came into existence to a large part because of Sundance support. I'm absolutely utterly, unequivocally overwhelmed and thrilled. From the entire team to everybody at Sundance, we can't thank you enough. It feels utterly surreal and absurd. I feel like I have no non-clichéd way of saying this right now, but I can't thank you enough.”

Nikyatu Jusu's Nanny won the US Grand Jury Prize for Dramatic Features while Ben Klein and Violet Columbus's The Exiles was awarded the US Grand Jury Prize for Documentary.

The Bolivian film Utama by Alejandro Loayza Grisi won the World Cinema Grand Jury Prize for Dramatic Feature.

Sundance Institute CEO Joana Vicente said in a statement, “Today’s awards represent the determination of visionary individuals whose dynamic work will continue to change the culture and create discourse throughout the year. This year’s entire program has proven that no matter the context, independent storytelling remains a pivotal tool in expanding critical dialogues, and these stories will and must be shared.”

Festival director Tabitha Jackson said, “The 2022 Sundance Film Festival once again met our audience wherever they happened to be. Whether you watched from home or on one of our seven satellite screens, this year’s festival expressed a powerful convergence; we were present, together, as a community connected through the work. And it is work that has already changed those who experienced it.”

Last year, another critically acclaimed documentary, Writing With Fire, by directors Rintu Thomas and Sushmit Ghosh, won the Audience Award and the Special Jury Award: Impact for Change honours in the World Cinema Documentary section.