Cannes 2022: Filmmaker Shaunak Sen's 'All That Breathes' Bags Best Documentary Award

Delhi-based filmmaker Shaunak Sen’s documentary All That Breathes bagged the L’Oeil d'Or on May 28. The documentary premiered in the special screening segment at the ongoing Cannes Film Festival. The 90-minute-long documentary, reportedly, is Sen’s second project after his 2016 documentary called Cities of Sleep—which documented homeless people searching for a place to sleep in Delhi.

Sen’s documentary follows the lives of two brothers Mohammad Saud and Nadeem Shehzad who have dedicated their lives to treating injured birds, especially, the migratory black kites. The documentary was chosen winner by the jury comprising Polish filmmaker Agnieszka Holland, Ukrainian writer-director Iryna Tsilyk, French actor Pierre Deladonchamps, journalist Alex Vicente, and Moroccan writer-filmmaker Hicham Falah.

Shaunak Sen Documentary Bags L'Oeil d'Or

The jury noted that the L’Oeil d'Or goes to a film that “in a world of destruction, reminds us that every life matters and every small action matters”. They noted that one can grab a camera, save a bird and look for “moments of stealing beauty”.

“It's an inspirational journey in observation of three Don Quixotes who may not save the whole world but do save their world,” the jury noted.

Still from All That Breathes (Live Wire)

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Moreover, the documentary had also won the World Cinema Grand Jury Prize: Documentary at the 2022 Sundance Film Festival. Wishes started pouring in for the filmmaker with independent musician Ankur Tewari tweeting, “This is the only news from Cannes that I was hoping to share. Wishes do come true. Zindabad. #AllThatBreathes”

This is the second consecutive year that an Indian documentary filmmaker won the award. Last year, Mumbai-based Payal Kapadia bagged the L’Oeil d’Or documentary award for her film A Night of Knowing Nothing at the Cannes Film Festival.

The film revolves around letters by a student at the Film and Television Institute of India to her estranged boyfriend after they were separated when he was forced to quit the course and denied permission to date her since they belonged to a different caste.

More About The L’Oeil d’Or Award

The L’Oeil d’Or documentary award which is also known as The Golden Eye Award was created in 2015 by the French-speaking authors’ society LaScam in collaboration with the Cannes Film Festival. The award-winning documentary receives 5,000 euros as well.