Shaunak Sen

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Shaunak Sen
Born26 June 1987
Calcutta, West Bengal, India
NationalityIndian
Alma materJawaharlal Nehru University A.J.K. Mass Communication Research Centre
OccupationFilmmaker
Years active2013–present

Shaunak Sen is an Academy award nominated Indian filmmaker, video artist and film scholar. His documentary film on environmental issues, All That Breathes, won the Grand Jury Prize in the World Cinema Documentary Competition at 2022 Sundance Film Festival[1] and the Golden Eye award for the best documentary at 2022 Cannes Film Festival.[2][3][4] It was also nominated for the Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature.

Education

Sen graduated in Mass Communication from A.J.K. Mass Communication Research Centre Jamia Milia, New Delhi, and obtained a Ph.D. from the School of Arts and Aesthetics at the Jawaharlal Nehru University in Delhi.[5][6] His academic and early professional work won support from various organizations, including the Films Division of India Documentary Fellowship (2013), CSDS-Sarai Digital and Social Media Fellowship (2014), Pro Helvetia Residency (2016) and the Charles Wallace Fellowship (2018). He also participated in Cambridge University's ERC Urban Ecologies project as a visiting scholar in 2018.[7]

Career

Sen, along with Amitesh Grover and Frank Oberhausser, co-conceptualized Downtime, a live installation event across Delhi and Berlin that allowed audiences to explore practices across sleep in public territories, private spaces, and digitally networked environments.[8] With Arnika Ahldag and Grover, he was co-curator of Notes on Mourning, a live performance and video installation in January 2015.[9] He was also part of the Copycat Academy Residency, curated by Hannah Hurtzig at the Luminato Film Festival in Toronto in June 2015.[10]

Sen's first feature-length documentary, a "sensitive unpacking of the geographies of homelessness and sleep in Delhi", Cities of Sleep funded by the Films Division of India was released in 2016.[11] The film was screened at 16th edition of the New York Indian Film Festival,[12] Taiwan International Documentary Festival, and Mumbai International Film Festival.[5] Screened at over 20 other international festivals, the documentary won six awards.[13]

Sen's second feature length documentary All That Breathes premiered on 21 January 2022 in the Sundance Film Festival's World Cinema Documentary Competition. Two brothers Saud and Nadeem were raised in New Delhi, looking at a sky speckled with black kites, watching as relatives tossed meat up to these birds of prey. Muslim belief held that feeding the kites would expel troubles. Now, birds are falling from the polluted, opaque skies of New Delhi and the two brothers have made it their life’s work to care for the injured black kites.[14]

The documentary won the World Cinema Grand Jury Prize: Documentary at the Sundance Film Festival, with one juror saying "This poetic film delivers an urgent political story while constructing a singular and loving portrait of protagonists resisting seemingly inevitable ecological disaster – with humorous touches punctuated by unsentimental depiction of the animal kingdom."[15] The documentary also won the L'Œil d'or (Golden Eye), the top award for documentary films, at the 75th Cannes Film Festival in 2022, with the jury saying "The Golden Eye goes to a film that, in a world of destruction, reminds us that every life matters, and every small action matters. You can grab your camera, you can save a bird, you can hunt for some moments of stealing beauty, it matters. It's an inspirational journey in observation of three Don Quixotes who may not save the whole world but do save their world."[16]

Following the Cannes screening of All That Breathes, HBO announced that it had acquired worldwide television rights to the documentary. A theatrical release in the USA through Submarine Deluxe and Sideshow was followed by a release on HBO Max.[17]

Filmography

Year Title Worked as Note Ref.
2013 Squad's Fall Guys Editor [18]
2013 Old Town
2014 T&Lily
2016 Cities of Sleep Writer/ Director Screened at NYIFF, TIDF, and MIFF [19]
2022 All That Breathes Director/ Producer Won Grand Jury Prizes in World Cinema Documentary Competition at 2022 Sundance Film Festival and Golden Eye award for the best documentary at 2022 Cannes Film Festival [16]

Accolades

Award Date of ceremony Category Recipient(s) Result Ref.
Cannes Film Festival May 28, 2022 Golden Eye Shaunak Sen Won [20]
IDA Documentary Awards December 10, 2022 Best Director Shaunak Sen Won [21]
Cinema Eye Honors January 12, 2023 Outstanding Non-Fiction Feature Shaunak Sen, Aman Mann and Teddy Leifer Won [22][23]
Outstanding Direction Shaunak Sen Nominated
Directors Guild of America Awards February 18, 2023 Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Documentaries Shaunak Sen Nominated [24]
Producers Guild of America Awards February 25, 2023 Outstanding Producer of Documentary Theatrical Motion Pictures Aman Mann, Shaunak Sen, and Teddy Leifer Nominated [25][26]
British Academy Film Awards February 19, 2023 Best Documentary Shaunak Sen, Teddy Leifer, Aman Mann Nominated [27]
Independent Spirit Awards March 4, 2023 Best Documentary Feature Shaunak Sen, Teddy Leifer, Aman Mann Nominated [28]
Academy Awards March 12, 2023 Best Documentary Feature Shaunak Sen, Aman Mann, and Teddy Leifer Nominated [29]

References

  1. ^ Srivatsan S (1 February 2022). "Shaunak Sen's documentary 'All That Breathes' wins World Cinema Grand Jury Prize at Sundance Film Festival 2022". The Hindu. Retrieved 31 May 2022.
  2. ^ Dargis, Manohla; Scott, A. O. (1 February 2022). "Sundance Wrap-Up: 6 Movies We Like and One We Disagree on" – via NYTimes.com.
  3. ^ "'A gaping wound': how a film about birds of prey is a warning to India's capital city". the Guardian. 23 May 2022.
  4. ^ "All That Breathes: The Indian brothers who heal birds dropping from the sky". 18 February 2022 – via www.bbc.com.
  5. ^ a b Sangeeta Tomar (29 May 2022). "Who is Shaunak Sen: कौन हैं दिल्ली के शौनक सेन, जिन्होंने Cannes में जीता गोल्डन आई अवॉर्ड और 4.16 लाख रुपये" [Who is Shaunak Sen: Who is Shaunak Sen from Delhi, who won the Golden Eye Award and Rs 4.16 lakh at Cannes]. India Times (in Hindi). Retrieved 31 May 2022.
  6. ^ "Shaunak Sen". The Factory Contemporary Arts Centre. Retrieved 31 May 2022.
  7. ^ "Shaunak Sen". Goethe-Institut. Archived from the original on 12 June 2022. Retrieved 12 June 2022.
  8. ^ "On Sleep". Amitesh Grover. Archived from the original on 12 June 2022. Retrieved 12 June 2022.
  9. ^ "On Mourning". Amitesh Grover. Archived from the original on 12 June 2022. Retrieved 12 June 2022.
  10. ^ "The Copycat Academy 2015". Mobile Akademie Berlin. Archived from the original on 12 June 2022. Retrieved 12 June 2022.
  11. ^ Nandini Ramnath (12 September 2015). "How and where do the homeless of Delhi sleep? A documentary uncovers an economy of the night". Scroll.in. Retrieved 31 May 2022.
  12. ^ Meher Mirza (22 June 2016). "Beyond the multiplex". The Hindu. Retrieved 31 May 2022.
  13. ^ "Shaina Anand in Conversation with Shaunak Sen". India Art Fair. 2 February 2020. Archived from the original on 12 June 2022. Retrieved 12 June 2022.
  14. ^ "All That Breathes". Sundance Film Festival. Retrieved 20 April 2022.
  15. ^ "2022 Sundance Film Festival's Awards announced". Sundance Film Festival. 28 January 2022. Retrieved 12 June 2022.
  16. ^ a b "Indian film All That Breathes wins top documentary award at Cannes 2022". The Indian Express. 29 May 2022. Retrieved 12 June 2022.
  17. ^ "Shaunak Sen on HBO release of 'All That Breathes': Thrilled to join the roster". The Hindu. Press Trust of India. 21 May 2022. Retrieved 12 June 2022.
  18. ^ "Film Screening: "Cities of Sleep" with Director, Shaunak Sen & Associate Director, Aman Mann". Watson Brown. 1 March 2017. Retrieved 31 May 2022.
  19. ^ Vivek Surendran (14 September 2015). "Cities of Sleep: Ever wondered where the homeless sleep?". India Today. Retrieved 31 May 2022.
  20. ^ "Indian film All That Breathes wins top documentary award at Cannes 2022". The Indian Express. 28 May 2022. Retrieved 28 May 2022.
  21. ^ Lewis, Hilary (10 December 2022). "IDA Documentary Awards: 'All That Breathes' Tops Winners". Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 10 December 2022.
  22. ^ Jones, Marcus (10 November 2022). "'Fire of Love' and 'The Territory' Lead 2023 Cinema Eye Honors Nonfiction Film Nominees". IndieWire. Retrieved 10 November 2022.
  23. ^ MacCary, Julia; Shafer, Ellise (12 January 2023). "'All That Breathes,' 'Fire of Love' Lead Cinema Eye Honors". Variety. Retrieved 13 January 2023.
  24. ^ Schneider, Michael (10 January 2023). "Severance, Station Eleven, The Daily Show Lead 2023 DGA Awards Television Nominations". Variety. Retrieved 10 January 2023.
  25. ^ "Producers Guild of America Awards Celebrates Everything Everywhere All At Once, White Lotus, The Bear, Navalny & more with Top Honors" (Press release). Los Angeles: Producers Guild of America. 25 February 2023. Retrieved 2 March 2023.
  26. ^ Carey, Matthew (12 December 2022). "PGA Awards Documentary Nominations Bring Shocks and Surprises: Nothing Compares In, All The Beauty And The Bloodshed Out". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved 12 January 2023.
  27. ^ Ntim, Zac (19 January 2023). "BAFTA Film Awards Nominations: 'All Quiet On The Western Front,' 'Banshees Of Inisherin' & 'Everything Everywhere All At Once' Lead — The Complete List". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved 19 January 2023.
  28. ^ Lattanzio, Ryan (22 November 2022). "2023 Film Independent Spirit Award Nominations Announced (Updating Live)". IndieWire. Retrieved 22 November 2022.
  29. ^ Lewis, Hilary (24 January 2023). "Oscars: Full List of Nominations". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 24 January 2023.

External links

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