Riz Ahmed, Dev Patel, Judd Apatow, Mira Nair and Mark Duplass are among the many admirers of the Oscar-nominated documentary Anything that breathesdirected by Shaunak Sen. Now you can add the folks at Criterion to the film’s legion of fans.
The film, about brothers in Delhi, India who rescue injured birds of prey, particularly the black kite, will be added to Criterion’s library by Sideshow and Submarine Deluxe, according to an announcement. “[Criterion] has acquired TVOD rights and will provide details for a future home video release at a later date,” reads a release, noting that the film will be available for purchase or rental on iTunes, Apple, Amazon and Vudu . Anything that breathes is currently available on HBO and HBO Max.
“Amidst environmental toxins and social unrest, the ‘Flyer Brothers’ spend day and night tending to the creatures at their makeshift bird hospital,” says the documentary. “The film explores the connection between the pilots and the Muslim brothers who help them return to heaven, and offers a fascinating chronicle of the coexistence of species.”
“It’s so powerful and so beautifully filmed,” Apatow notes in a YouTube video featuring some of the most entertaining creators. “At first glance, it almost feels like a script because the shots aren’t composed the way a lot of shots are composed in documentaries.”
To cite just one example, a brief shot in the film leads to a discarded item in the field – a plastic duffel bag cradling a puddle of rainwater. Then the shadow of an airplane passes on the surface of the water.
“It’s so stunning,” says Patel Anything that breathes. “It’s poetry. I cried, I smiled. It’s really nice. Every frame is a painting.” Duplass adds, “I haven’t seen a film in a few years that moved me like that. The cinema here is as brilliant as anything I’ve seen from a compositional point of view.
In a recent interview with Deadline, the director commented on the beautiful images of Anything that breathes.
“Of course, this is largely due to the incredible magic of cinematographers Ben Bernhard and Riju Das,” Sen told us. “But most of all, what we call beauty is so often a function of time. Because if you keep popping up and shooting, eventually life will reward you with accidents. We’ve prepared our long range shots and if something gets distracted out of nowhere and what else , it’s wonderful. So many documentaries are a kind of radical embrace of the unwritten world.”
2022, Anything that breathes became the first film to win the top prize for documentaries at both the Sundance Film Festival and Cannes. It also won Best Non-Fiction Film at the Cinema Eye Honours, Gotham Awards, IDA Awards and the London Film Festival, among others. She is nominated next at the Academy Awards All the beauty and the bloodshed, fire of love, A house of splintersAnd Navalny.
earlier today, Anything that breathes competed for Best Documentary at the Independent Spirit Awards in Santa Monica, California All the beauty and the bloodshed, A house of splinters, midwivesAnd Riotville, USAof All the beauty and the bloodshed come on top
In addition to Sen, producers Aman Mann and Teddy Liefer are nominated for an Oscar. HBO Documentary Films presents Anything that breathes in association with Submarine Deluxe and Sideshow, a production of Kiterabbit Films and Rise Films in association with HHMI Tangled Bank Studios.
Source: Deadline
Joseph Fearn is an entertainment and television aficionado who writes for The Fashion Vibes. With a keen eye for what’s hot in the world of TV, Joseph keeps his readers informed about the latest trends and must-see shows.
