Indie Film Site Network (IFSN) has announced Shaunak Sen’s remarkable, essential documentary All That Breathes as the inaugural recipient of the IFSN Advocate Award. The recipient of the award, established to highlight one theatrically released indie film each year that illuminates a humanitarian or environmental issue with a singular artistic vision, is awarded one million (1M) media impressions across the Indie Film Site Network, which represents The Film Stage, Hammer to Nail, IONCINEMA.com, RogerEbert.com, and Screen Anarchy. Letterboxd, the popular social network for cinephiles, is also contributing to the award.
The first film to ever win both the Grand Jury Prize at Sundance and the Best Documentary Prize at Cannes, All That Breathes will begin its U.S. theatrical run this Friday, October 21 at NYC’s Film Forum and open at Laemmle Royal in Los Angeles on October 28, courtesy of Sideshow and Submarine Deluxe in association with HBO Documentary Films. All That Breathes also recently won the Grierson Award, the top prize in the Documentary Competition at the London Film Festival, is nominated for the Asia Pacific Screen Award for Best Documentary Feature Film, and is nominated for Best Cinematography and Best Science/Nature Documentary at the 2022 Critics Choice Documentary Awards.
In one of the world’s most populated cities, two brothers — Nadeem and Saud — devote their lives to the quixotic effort of protecting the black kite, a majestic bird of prey essential to the ecosystem of New Delhi that has been falling from the sky at alarming rates. Amid environmental toxicity and social unrest, the ‘kite brothers’ spend day and night caring for the creatures in their makeshift avian basement hospital. Director Shaunak Sen (Cities of Sleep) explores the connection between the kites and the Muslim brothers who help them return to the skies, offering a mesmerizing chronicle of inter-species coexistence.
The 2022 IFSN Advocate Award is selected by a jury of writers and editors from IFSN sites.
“When I first saw All That Breathes at its Sundance premiere, I was immediately struck by Shaunak Sen’s sensitive, observational eye in capturing the devastating environmental issues that are changing the natural way of life in New Delhi and the world at large,” said Jordan Raup, co-founder of IFSN and editor-in-chief and co-founder of The Film Stage. “It’s an honor to put a spotlight on this essential film—and the best documentary of the year—through the launch of the IFSN Advocate Award.”
Matt Delman, director of sales of IFSN and editor-at-large of Hammer to Nail, said, “I’ve been proud to champion All That Breathes since its Sundance debut, and it’s heartening to see the positive response from fellow critics. It was a film that we quickly all agreed on, which doesn’t happen so often. One of our goals with this award is to discover hidden gems and promote them in a meaningful way.”
About Indie Film Site Network
Indie Film Site Network (IFSN) is a collaboration between well-respected media outlets covering the most essential developments in independent and international cinema. IFSN, which represents The Film Stage, Hammer to Nail, IONCINEMA.com, RogerEbert.com, and Screen Anarchy, was created with a mission to support film criticism and foster an ever-growing community of indie film lovers. For more information, visit indiefilmsitenetwork.com. For sales and partnership inquiries, contact [email protected].