The 66th edition of the prestigious BFI (British Film Institute) London Film Festival has just concluded and the winning titles for various competition categories have been announced. And an Indian filmmaker has once again made us proud on a renowned international festival platform. We are talking about Shaunak Sen’s critically acclaimed documentary film ‘All That Breathes’, which has won the Documentary Competition Grierson Award at the BFI London Film Festival 2022.
‘All That Breathes’ had its world premiere earlier this year at the Sundance Film Festival where it bagged the coveted Grand Jury Prize in World Cinema Documentary Competition. A few months later, the film also won the Golden Eye (Best Documentary) award at the Cannes Film Festival.
Set against the backdrop of Delhi, the documentary film revolves around two brothers namely Saud and Nadeem whose childhood entailed watching the birds of prey, also known as the black kite, in the sky. Shaunak Sen’s film narrates how the two brothers have dedicated their lives to protect these birds which are now falling from the polluted skies.
Besides Shaunak Sen’s documentary film winner ‘All That Breathes’, the ‘Best Film’ award at the BFI London Film Festival 2022 has been bagged by Marie Kreutzer’s drama film ‘Corsage’, which is based on the life of the Austrian Empress Elisabeth. And the Sutherland Award for the best feature film directorial debut has been won by Manuela Martelli for the political thriller ‘1976’. Moreover, the ‘Short Film Award’, ‘Best Immersive Art and XR Award’, ‘Audience Award (Feature)’, and the ‘Audience Award (Short)’ have been bagged by ‘I Have No Legs, and I Must Run’, ‘As Mine Exactly’, ‘Blue Bag Life’, and ‘Drop Out’, respectively.