Shaunak Sen’s ‘All That Breathes’
Delhi-based filmmaker Shaunak Sen’s documentary “All That Breathes” will premiere in a special screening segment at the upcoming Cannes Film Festival, organizers announced on Thursday as they unveiled the official line-up of the film gala. The 10-day festival, considered one of the most prestigious gathering of cinema talent from around the world, will also see Hollywood spectacles like “Top Gun: Maverick” and the 75th edition of the Elvis Presley biopic.
“All That Breaths” by Delhi director Sen will premiere in a special screening segment at the festival, the organizers said in an announcement that was live streamed on their official Twitter page.
The 90-minute long documentary follows siblings Mohammad Saud and Nadeem Shahzad, who have dedicated their lives to save and treat injured birds, especially black kites.
Working out of their abandoned basement in Wazirabad, the brothers from Delhi become the central focus of the film and their story zooms out to document a larger snapshot of the city, where the air is toxic and the land is prone to social upheaval. Slow burning.
In January, the film won the World Cinema Grand Jury Prize: Documentary at the Sundance Film Festival, a film gala that promotes independent cinema and filmmakers.
This is Sen’s second directorial debut after the acclaimed 2016 “Cities of Sleep”, which was about a search for the homeless to sleep in the capital.
There is no Indian film in the Un Certain Regard section, but neighboring Pakistan’s “Joyland”, written and directed by filmmaker Sam Sadiq, is in this segment. The director had previously won the Orizonti Award for Best Short Film for “Darling” at the 2019 Venice Film Festival.
As previously announced, Paramount-Skydance’s “Top Gun: Maverick”, starring Tom Cruise, and Warner Bros./Roadshow’s “Elvis” directed by Baz Luhrmann, featuring Austin Butler and Tom Hanks, graced the festive red carpet. But there will be star attractions.
Cruz, who attended the Festival de Cannes for Ron Howard’s “Far and Away” three decades ago, will also be honored with a special career tribute at the gala.
These two big-budget glasses will be showcased as part of an out-of-competition segment with “Three Thousand Years of Longing” by George Miller of “Mad Max” fame, “Novembre” by Cedric Jiminez and “Masquerade” by Nicolas Bedos.
The fair will open on May 17 with “Jade (Come Z)” by Michel Hazanavicius, shown out of competition.
Palm d’Or winning Japanese director Hirokazu Kore-eda will return to the croissant with “Broker”, his Korean-language debut starring Korean stars Song Kang-ho (“Parasite”), Bai Doona (“Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance”). The film stars Gang Dong-won (“Peninsula”) and Lee Ji-eun, better known by his stage name Iu.
“The Broker” is part of a competition segment with South Korean master filmmaker Park Chan-wook’s “Decision to Leave”.
Park, best known for the “Vengeance” trilogy and “The Handmaiden”, won the Grand Prix for “Oldboy” at the 2004 Cannes Film Festival and the 2009 Jury Prize for his vampire film “Thirst”.
“Jerry Lee Lewis: Trouble in Mind” by Ethan Coen and “The Natural History of Destruction” by Ukrainian director Sergei Loznitsa are also part of the special screening line-up.
South Korean star Lee Jung-jae’s directorial debut “Hunt” will premiere at the midnight screening section of the prestigious film festival.
Lee, a popular name in his native South Korea, gained international fame and acclaim after playing player number 456 Seong Gi-hun in Netflix’s survival drama series “Squid Game” last September.
“Fumer Fate Tosser” by Quentin Dupieux and “Moonj’s Daydream” by Brett Morgan are also part of the midnight screening segment.
“Armageddon Time” by Claire Dennis, “Stars at Noon”, “Crimes of the Future” (David Cronenberg), “Les Amendiers” (Valeria Bruni Tedeschi), “Showing Up” by Kelly Reichard and “Boy from Heaven” by Claire Dennis A total of 18 films in the competition category by Tariq Saleh are included in the line-up.
There are 15 films on the Un Certain Regard list, including “Les Pires” by director duo Lisa Acoca and Romain Guerrett, “Sick of Myself” by Christopher Borghley, “Beast” starring Riley Keough and Gina Gammel, “Plan 75″ Huh. ” (Hayakawa Chi), and “Butterfly Vision” by Maxim Nakonechni, among others.
The Cannes premiere segment will see titles such as “Nos Frangins” by Rachid Bouchareb, “Nightfall” directed by Marco Bellocchio, “Dodo” by Panos H. Coutras and “Irma Vape” series by director Olivier Assayas.
The 75th edition of the Cannes Film Festival will continue till May 28.