Shaunak Sen: Sundance jury position is an honour

Shaunak has been invited to be a part of the World Cinema Documentary Competition jury of the Sundance Film Festival 2024, slated to take place January 18–28 in Utah’s Salt Lake City. In 2022, Shaunak’s film All That Breathes premiered at the Sundance fest, where it won the Grand Jury Prize in the World Cinema Documentary Competition.

Other jurors in the World Cinema Documentary Competition jury include Mandy Chang, Creative Director of Fremantle’s Undeniable documentary strand, and Monica Hellström, producer of documentaries such as Flee and A House Made of Splinters. Shaunak says, “I’m honoured and genuinely excited about being a jury member at the Sundance Film Festival. Sundance is a revered, beloved, and legendary institution, especially for independent cinema. In my own film and recent career, the high points have often been deeply connected to Sundance. For instance, one of the earliest supports we had gotten was from the Sundance film grant. Thereafter, we were accepted into the Sundance Festival for our world premiere in the world documentary competition section, and of course, the highest point was when we won the Grand Jury Prize. I feel deeply indebted to the festival and the organisation, of course.”
The director adds, “But above and beyond all these things, what’s truly exciting about the jury work is that you sit and watch films picked by a high-calibre programming team. For those nine-10 days, you are watching high-quality films with complete immersion and honesty. So, I can’t wait to be in the freezing climate of Park City, Utah, watch films, and experience the festival. It’s an absolute honour, and I’m genuinely excited.”