These guys are savin. black kites (a type of bird) from a polluted sky no one else even looks up at anymore?
Check out the one bird that steals the eyeglasses right off the protagonist’s face mid-shot!
If you like this, check out 10+ Documentaries Like “My Octopus Teacher” from my colleague Rob Kelly (he lists it as #8).
Trailer for “All That Breathes”
You Can’t Make This Sh!t Up
- The brothers first learned animal anatomy from bodybuilding magazines as teens.
- They built surgical tools from scrap metal and motorcycle parts.
- Feeding black kites is believed to earn “sawab” (religious merit), a centuries-old Muslim tradition in Delhi. One of the kites swoops down and steals the protagonist’s eyeglasses mid-shot—and it’s in the final film.
Watch “All That Breathes”
You can watch “All That Breathes” on HBO Max, Hulu (via HBO), and Kanopy.
Ratings:
- My Rating: 93/100
- IMDB Rating: 7.0/10
- Rotten Tomatoes: 92/100 (Users); 99/100 (Critics)
Director’s Note: Directed by Shaunak Sen. His earlier doc “Cities of Sleep” (2016) explored homelessness in Delhi through the lens of urban sleep shelters. He’s clearly interested in how people and systems break down—and what survives. “All That Breathes” took over three years to film, and it shows in every textured frame.
Release Date: January 21, 2022 (Sundance premiere); October 2022 (HBO release)
My Review of “All That Breathes”
The Setup
Mohammad Saud and Nadeem Shehzad, brothers raised in a working-class Muslim neighborhood in Delhi, started rescuing black kites 20+ years ago when they noticed the birds kept falling out of the sky. They now run a basement bird hospital—barely larger than a one-car garage—where they’ve treated over 20,000 birds.
More Highlights from the Doc
- The film won the Grand Jury Prize at Sundance 2022 and the IDA Documentary of the Year—rare for a quiet, meditative film about birds.
- The visuals are mesmerizing—long, gliding shots of rats, pigs, and birds coexisting with humans in polluted Delhi streets. It feels like a nature doc set in an apocalypse.
- While rescuing kites, the brothers navigate increasing anti-Muslim violence. One of them even considers leaving India altogether for a fellowship in the U.S.
- Their assistant, Salik, becomes a quiet hero—equal parts streetwise, philosophical, and loyal. He works 12-hour days and still jokes while dodging falling birds.
Lesser-Known Details from the Doc
- Most black kite rescues happen during wedding season—when strings coated in ground glass (used in kite flying) slice the birds midair.
- The brothers built a pulley system to haul injured birds into their rooftop aviary because they couldn’t afford an elevator or staff.
- Nadeem’s visa for a wildlife fellowship in the U.S. gets delayed due to his Muslim background. The film quietly shows how religion shadows opportunity.
- The kites become a metaphor—the birds glide even when they’re wounded. The film never says this out loud, but it doesn’t need to.
Wrap Up:
“All That Breathes” isn’t flashy. But if you give it your full attention, it hits deep. You’ll never look at the sky (or Delhi) the same way again.
Thanks for reading!
Heather Fenty, Guest Writer, Daily Doc