Shaunak Sen was awarded the Grierson Award 16 October for his Sundance winner All That Breathes (Grand Jury Prize in the World Cinema Doc Comp) during the London prize-giving ceremony. The film concerns two brothers in pollution-ravaged Delhi who have created a sanctuary for the magnificent black kites which dominate the city’s skies. All That Breathes will was released in cinemas across the UK & Ireland by Dogwoof on October 14 2022.
The Immersive Art and XR Competition top prize went to As Mine Exactly by Charlie Shackleton, a work that blends VR, performance and film.
Documentary Competition (Grierson Award): All that Breathes (2022) by Shaunak Sen
Nadeem and Saud rescue injured kites and vultures – considered impure because they eat carrion – which struggle to survive in Delhi’s contaminated environment. An overcrowded, garbage-strewn street in a middle-class neighbourhood of Delhi might seem an improbable backdrop for a profound meditation on the relationship between humans and nature. But within this world, Sen constructs a dreamscape that is as magnificent as it is inclusive. From sweeping shots of kites in flight to following scurrying rats and swarms of flies, All That Breathes makes a moving case for no living creature being too insignificant or unworthy of attention, love and care.
Documentary Competition citation: “The winner of this year’s award is a film that through an intimate lens reveals the beauty of kinship and the struggle for survival in a time of increasing social and environmental collapse. This masterful work is thrilling evidence of the present and future of non-fiction filmmaking. This is pure cinema.”
Shaunak Sen commented: “The film has very deep connections to the UK and London in particular, our wonderful producers are all based in London, attending the screenings at the London Film Festival was excellent personally for me because apart from the responses from the packed houses also it became a warm gathering of other crew members… Most importantly while the awards are fabulous as a kind of recognition for the work we have put in, it feels special because what awards like this do is give traction to the truly singular work that our protagonists, the brothers Nadeem and Saud, do. I’m absolutely thrilled and so so happy.”
The Grierson Jury gave a special commendation to What About China by Trinh Minh-ha.
Immersive Art and XR Competition: As Mine Exactly (2022) Charlie Shackleton
Blending virtual reality, performance and film, documentarian Shackleton reaches for nothing short of a new genre as he shares his deeply personal story with one visitor at a time. Using fragments of original footage and images from his childhood, he revisits memories with his mother that shaped his young teenage life, streaming them live into a VR headset. In a fully immersive experience, Shackleton (Beyond Clueless, The Afterlight) narrates the story live. The result has tremendous intimacy and emotional impact.
