Oscars 2023 Best Documentary nominees: Will All That Breathes create history for India?

Shaunak Sen’s All That Breathes is in the Oscars race. It is nominated in the Best Documentary Feature Film category and faces fierce competition from the other four nominees. At the 95th Academy Awards, we might see the film continue its winning streak and create history.

Here are all the other documentaries nominated in the category alongside Shaunak's celebrated film. The Indian documentary is running against other acclaimed titles from international filmmakers Simon Lereng Wilmont, Daniel Roher, Sara Dosa and Laura Poitras. 
 

All the Beauty and the Bloodshed

Laura Poitras' documentary is centred around the career of photographer & activist Nan Goldin. It details the artist’s work and documents her fight against the Sackler family’s Purdue Pharma, whom she held accountable for the opioid crisis in America. 

All the Beauty and the Bloodshed was also edited, produced and co-edited by Poitras, and has earned several Best Documentary accolades since its release. Poitras also earned a nomination for Best Director at the Critics’ Choice Award for the film.
 

Navalny 

The documentary comes from Daniel Roher. It follows the poisoning of Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny and the investigation into the matter. Navalny was nominated in several award ceremonies, and its most noticeable wins include Audience Award: U.S. Documentary and Festival Favorite Award at the Sundance Film Festival. 

A House Made of Splinters

A House Made of Splinters is from Danish filmmaker Simon Lereng Wilmont, who made the documentary in a collaboration with the State Agency of Ukraine for Film Affairs. It follows the stories of children who reside in a special orphanage in Lysychansk in eastern Ukraine during wartime. 

The most noteworthy wins for the documentary include a Best Director - World Cinema Documentary Competition title by Simon Lereng Wilmont at the Sundance Film Festival. 
 

Fire of Love

The Sara Dosa documentary is based on the careers and lives of volcanologists Katia Krafft and Maurice Krafft. It won the Best Documentary title at several award ceremonies such as Seattle Film Critics, Georgia Film Critics Association and Satellite Awards. 
 

Will Shaunak Sen’s All That Breathes create history at Oscars 2023?

All That Breathes is the first film to win the top prizes at the Sundance Film Festival and Cannes Film Festival in the same year. Shaunak Sen also scored a Best Director win at the IDA Documentary Awards. It remains to be seen whether All That Breathes will take the Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature Film or gets snubbed. 

The documentary faces tough competition from A House Made of Splinters and All the Beauty and the Bloodshed, which also have the accolades backing their claims at the golden statuette.