ACES Partners with Aspen Film to present ALL THAT BREATHES

September 26, 2022 (Aspen, CO) — The Aspen Center for Environmental Studies (ACES) and Aspen Film are partnering to bring filmmaker Shaunak Sen’s award-winning film, ALL THAT BREATHES, to the Isis Theatre in Aspen for an exclusive screening event on Thursday, October 13 at 7pm. Tickets are $15 for ACES and Aspen Film Members, and $20 for the public. Tickets can be purchased online at https://aspenfilm.org/.

Sen’s film received the World Cinema Grand Jury Prize at the Sundance Film Festival (2022), Best Documentary Film at the Cannes Film Festival (2022) and was selected for the New York Film Festival (2022).

ACES and Aspen Film are excited to co-present this internationally acclaimed film with a local audience. Although the story focuses on a regional climate crisis in India, the film is an exploration of the connection between humans and other species, the influence of place on such connections, and how climate change holds repercussions for all of us, regardless of where in the world we live. 

Sen states his intentions about the film, “I am not interested in making either conventional ‘nature-based’ programming or a ‘wildlife’ documentary. My focus is neither limited to the life of the human protagonists nor the avian ones. The city itself – replete with the many human-animal ensembles in it – features in the film as a character.”

ABOUT ALL THAT BREATHES:

In one of the world’s most populated cities, two brothers – Nadeem and Saud – devote their lives to the quixotic effort of protecting the black kite, a majestic bird of prey essential to the ecosystem of New Delhi that has been falling from the sky at alarming rates. Amid environmental toxicity and social unrest, the ‘kite brothers’ spend day and night caring for the creatures in their makeshift avian basement hospital. Director Shaunak Sen (CITIES OF SLEEP) explores the connection between the kites and the Muslim brothers who help them return to the skies, offering a mesmerizing chronicle of inter-species coexistence.

ABOUT SHAUNAK SEN:

Director Shaunak Sen is a filmmaker and film scholar based in New Delhi, India. CITIES OF SLEEP (2016), his first feature-length documentary, was shown at various major international film festivals (including DOK Leipzig, DMZ Docs and the Taiwan International Documentary Film Festival, among others) and won six international awards. Shaunak received the IDFA Bertha Fund (2019), the Sundance Documentary Grant (2019), the Catapult Film Fund (2020), the Charles Wallace Grant, the Sarai CSDS Digital Media fellowship (2014), and the Films Division of India fellowship (2013). He was also a visiting scholar at Cambridge University (2018) and has published academic articles in Bioscope, Widescreen, and other journals.

ABOUT ACES:

The Aspen Center for Environmental Studies (ACES), a non-partisan, nonprofit organization, provides enriching environmental literacy programs for kids, teens, and adults as well as community and business leaders. With three locations between Aspen and Basalt, ACES offers year-round programs focused on science, ecology, natural history, stewardship, forest health, regenerative agriculture, civic leadership, and more. For more information and a full listing of ACES offerings, visit www.aspennature.org.

ABOUT ASPEN FILM:

Established in 1979, Aspen Film is one of Colorado's most active film arts organizations, presenting dynamic programs and featured guest artists throughout the year. Internationally recognized, Aspen Film organizes a major film event in every season, along with an extensive education program: Aspen Filmfest (September 27-October 2, 2022), Academy Screenings (December 19-23, 2022), Aspen Shortsfest (April 10-15, 2023), Summer of Cinema, and FilmEducates. With a mission to enlighten, enrich, educate, and entertain through film, Aspen Film stimulates thought, encourages dialogue, and broadens understanding of our world and selves through the diverse spectrum of ideas presented by filmmakers worldwide. Aspen Shortsfest was voted one of the top 25 Coolest Film Festivals in the World 2022 by Moviemaker Magazine. To learn more, visit aspenfilm.org.