“Shocked, relieved,” says director Shaunak Sen as his film ‘All that Breathes’ bags Oscar nom

Mumbai: Shaunak Sen’s directorial ‘All that Breathes’ made it to the final nominations list at the 95th edition of the Academy Awards, which was announced Jan. 25,, 2023.

Expressing happiness over the news, Shaunak took to Instagram and wrote, “We’re all shocked, relieved and discombobulated. Deepest, most heartfelt thanks to our characters, the whole film team, and collaborators.”

In his note, he added, “We’re all at a slight loss of words – but the main thing to note for now is that this only happened because everyone working almost moved worlds to somehow make the film reach the finishing line. I’m still wrapping my head around it.”

As ‘Naatu Naatu’ from ‘RRR’ bagged a nomination for Best Original Song and ‘The Elephant Whisperers’ got nominated in Documentary Short Subject category, Shaunak also extended best wishes to the teams of the respective films.

“Congratulations to all the other wonderful docs nominated! And to Elephant Whisperer and RRR,” he concluded.

All That Breathes follows siblings Mohammad Saud and Nadeem Shehzad, who have made it their lives’ mission to rescue and treat injured birds, especially the Black Kites. It previously won the ‘World Cinema Grand Jury Prize: Documentary’ at this year’s Sundance Film Festival, a film gala that promotes independent cinema and filmmakers, and earned the Golden Eye award for the best documentary at the 2022 Cannes Film Festival.