All That Breathes director Shaunak Sen says he has been flooded with messages of support after his climate change documentary lost out to Navalny at the Oscars. “So many chin-uppy messages of encouragement/support since yesterday. We were low for about an hour, but we’re soon distracted into equanimity amidst the whirl of glittery people and things. Brain is still to wrap around the fact that this is the end of this chapter,” the director wrote on Instagram.

“Next we’ll be working hard to figure India distribution,” he wrote of the film that’s yet to release in India, adding, “For now, very very nice to share this bizarre, swollen day with the brothers, and so many members of our crew. Hugest congratulations to the winning films from India!”

Naatu Naatu from RRR and The Elephant Whisperers emerged as winners in the Original Song and Documentary Short Film categories at the 95th Academy Awards on Sunday. The documentary previously won the World Cinema Grand -Jury Prize: Documentary at the 2022 Sundance Film Festival and the Golden Eye award for the best documentary at the 2022 Cannes.

Set in Delhi, All That Breathes follows siblings, Mohammad Saud and Nadeem Shehzad, who have devoted their lives to rescuing and treating injured birds, especially black kites. The director says, “Anyone who lives in Delhi is aware of the air as kind of a dark and tactile object. I did not think that I was making a film on air pollution at all. The basis of the story is the relationship between the brothers and how they continue treating so many birds, second – the broader landscape of Delhi, and third – the bird itself.”

--------------------------------------------

Of the three Indian entries for the 95th Academy Awards — two documentaries and a feature film — nominated in different categories, two brought home the coveted trophy. Guneet Monga Kapoor’s The Elephant Whisperers and the song Naatu Naatu from RRR (2022) won awards in their respective categories. However, Shaunak Sen’s All That Breathes (ATB) lost to Daniel Roher’s Navlany in the Best Documentary Feature Film category. Following this, Sen penned a heartfelt Instagram post with a series of pictures in the order of how “the day progressed”.

Taking the loss with a pinch of salt, Sen and his team posed with a moping face. His last Insta Story also showed the actual celebration by the team showing “how it actually ended”. He acknowledged the “chin-uppy messages of encouragement” and wrote, “We were low for about an hour, but were soon distracted into equanimity amid the whirl of glittery people and things. Brain is still to wrap around the fact that this is the end of this chapter.” 

Sen’s carousel featured team pictures gracing the champagne carpet and his caption read, “For now, very very nice to share this bizarre, swollen day with the brothers and so many members of our crew.” Sen extended accolades to the winning Indian films too.  

All That Breathes, a documentary addressing climate change in India, previously won the World Cinema Grand Jury Prize: Documentary at the 2022 Sundance Film Festival and the Golden Eye award for the best documentary at the 2022 Cannes Film Festival.