Payal Kapadia, a young Indian filmmaker, has created history with her debut film All We Imagine As Light. The film opened the prestigious Mumbai Film Festival (MAMI) this year.
The 55th International Film Festival of India (IFFI) in Goa also showcased it in the World Cinema section. Global film festivals widely acclaimed the film, leading to its release in Indian cinemas in the last week of November.
While India’s official entry for the Oscars failed to make it to the competition, All We Imagine as Light received two nominations at the prestigious Golden Globe Awards. One for Best Foreign Language Film and second for Best Director.
The Golden Globe Awards nominated Payal Kapadia, making her the first female filmmaker to receive the honour. This came after a controversial statement by Jahnu Barua, chairman of the Federation of Indian Film Associations, who claimed that the film was technically weak.
In a further boost to her career, the Academy Awards has included Payal Kapadia’s film in several categories for the 97th edition, as it had already screened in the U.S.
Additionally, the film was named the top favourite of the year by former U.S. President Barack Obama in his annual list of favourite films.
At the 77th Cannes Film Festival, Kapadia’s All We Imagine as Light made waves by competing in the main competition section and winning the Grand Prix.
Kapadia’s film received recognition at the Tokyo International Film Festival. This was a proud moment for Indian cinema.
Payal Kapadia, a graduate of the Film and Television Institute of India (FTII) in Pune, had already made a mark with her earlier works. In 2017, her short film Afternoon Clouds was the only Indian film selected for the Cinefondation section.
In 2021, Kapadia’s documentary A Night of Knowing Nothing won the Golden Eye Award for Best Documentary at Cannes.
At this year’s Cannes, Kapadia shared the stage with celebrated filmmakers like Francis Ford Coppola, Paolo Sorrentino, Michael Hazanavicius, and Jia Zhangke. With this, she competed in the main competition section.
All We Imagine as Light weaves through the chaos of Mumbai. It captures both the intimate moments of the women’s lives and the oppressive weight of their unspoken struggles. The film leaves a lasting impression on its audience, subtly highlighting the emotional scars of urban life.
Moreover, the film explores the harsh realities of life, offering no clear answers but leaving viewers with a sense of melancholy and reflection. The characters’ dreams of light and happiness seem ever-distant in the overwhelming darkness of their lives.
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