Sundance Film Festival: Indian filmmaker's documentary 'All That Breathes' wins top prize
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In an announcement video posted by the official Twitter account of Sundance Film Festival on Saturday, Sen said he was thrilled with the big win.
Filmmaker Shaunak Sen's documentary 'All That Breathes' has won the world Cinema Grand Jury Prize in the documentary section at the recently concluded Sundance Film Festival.
The 2022 edition of the festival, which was held virtually, saw juries choose the best from the 84 feature and 59 short films-- selected from 14,849 submissions.
Sen's documentary is set against the "darkening" backdrop of the capital's "apocalyptic air and escalating violence" and chronicles how two brothers devote their lives to "protect one casualty of the turbulent times: the bird known as the Black Kite".
🏆 World Cinema Grand Jury Prize: Documentary goes to ALL THAT BREATHES, directed by Shaunak Sen. #sundance pic.twitter.com/Fy1j2s3e2x
— SundanceFilmFestival (@sundancefest) January 28, 2022
In an announcement video posted by the official Twitter account of Sundance Film Festival on Saturday, Sen said he was thrilled with the big win.
"I am absolutely speechless and utterly beaming... The film simply came into existence to a large part because of Sundance support. I am 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 there is no non-cliche way of saying this, but I can't thank you enough," he said in the video.
The World Cinema Documentary Competition jury included filmmaker Dawn Porter, Emilie Bujes and Patrick Gaspard.
In her citation for the 90-min docu, Bujes described "All That Breathes" as a "poetic film" that delivers an "urgent political story".
The World Cinema Grand Jury Prize: Dramatic was presented to Alejandro Loayza Grisi for 'Utama'.
Hollywood star Dakota Johnson-starrer 'Cha Cha Real Smooth' bagged the Audience Award: US Dramatic. Directed by Cooper Raiff, the film follows a directionless college graduate embarking on a relationship with a young mom and her teenage daughter while learning the boundaries of his new bar mitzvah party-starting gig.
The Festival Favorite award was presented to director: Daniel Roher for 'Navalny', a fly-on-the-wall documentary thriller about anti-authoritarian Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny.