The last few years have seen documentary films really raise the bar, as filmmakers look to more intriguing subjects and push the boundary of what the art form can deliver. While there are always a few films that stand out each year, there’s typically one that’s head and shoulders above the rest. This year it looks as if All that Breathes could be that film, as it is the first ever to win both the Sundance and Cannes Documentary awards.
Directed by Shaunak Sen, the film was acquired for domestic distribution by HBO, who have a pretty good documentary track record. T
Here’s the 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.
All that Breathes will be at the New York Film Festival, then open in select theaters on October 21st. It will then be available on HBO and HBO Max in 2023.
