The Daily Telegraph

What to watch

ALL THAT BREATHES Sky Documentar­ies, 9pm

- Veronica Lee

Nominated for Best Documentar­y Feature at next month’s Oscars, Shaunak Sen’s engrossing film follows brothers Nadeem and Saud, and their assistant Salik, who live in a Muslim neighbourh­ood in Delhi and have devoted their lives to saving black kites, which are falling from the city’s polluted skies at an alarmingly fast rate. Muslims believe it brings good luck to feed black kites, and Saud describes his admiration for the thermalrid­ing raptor: “When other birds fly, their effort shows. But the kite swims.” Against a backdrop of rising religious and political tensions in the city, the trio work tirelessly in their makeshift avian hospital, rescuing injured birds and trying to rehabilita­te them. We eavesdrop on their tender, candid conversati­ons and see the men play indoor cricket, amid joky accusation­s of cheating. Ben Bernhard, Riju Das and Saumyanand­a Sahi’s beautiful cinematogr­aphy captures not just the birds, but Delhi’s unexpected­ly rich and diverse wildlife – from centipedes and rats amid the rubbish, to livestock being herded through the streets – showing the complex interactio­n between humans and animals in one of the world’s most populous cities. Wonderfull­y moving.

 ?? ?? This Oscar-nominated documentar­y follows two brothers intent on saving Delhi’s black kites
This Oscar-nominated documentar­y follows two brothers intent on saving Delhi’s black kites

Newspapers in English

Newspapers from United Kingdom