Kapadia Scripts History at Cannes, Bags Grand Prix
Director Payal Kapadia with the film cast during the closing ceremony of the 77th Cannes Film Festival, France, on Saturday

As ‘All We Imagine As Light’ gets second-most coveted award, Indian filmmaker’s movie receives rave reviews
THE ECONOMIC TIMES | PTI (May 26, 2024)

Cannes: Filmmaker Payal Kapadia on Saturday scripted history as her spellbinding drama "All We Imagine As Light" won the Grand Prix award at the 2024 Cannes Film Festival. The film bagged the award, which is the second-most prestigious prize of the festival after the Palme d'Or, during the closing ceremony of the 77th edition.

Kapadia's feature directorial debut, which screened on Thursday night and has received glowing reviews in the international press, already registered its name in the history books after it became the first Indian film in 30 years and first ever by an Indian female director to be showcased in the main competition.

The screening of the film received an eight-minute standing ovation from the audience members.

“All We Imagine As Light”, a Malayalam Hindi feature, is about Prabha, a nurse, who receives an unexpected gift from her long estranged husband that throws her life into disarray. Her younger roommate, Anu, tries in vain to find a private spot in the big city to be alone with her boyfriend. One day the two nurses go on a road trip to a beach town where the mystical forest becomes a space for their dreams to manifest, according to the plotline.

An alumna of the Film & Television Institute of India (FTII), Kapadia is best known for her acclaimed documentary “A Night of Knowing Nothing”, which premiered at the 2021 Cannes Film Festival's Director's Fortnight side-bar where it won the Oeil d'or (Golden Eye) award.

ACTRESS SENGUPTA SHINES
Meanwhile, Anasuya Sengupta, one of the lead stars of Bulgarian director Konstantin Bojanov's Hindi language movie "The Shameless", also created history by bagging the Best Actress award in the Un Certain Regard category of the 2024 Cannes Film Festival.

Sengupta, who hails from Kolkata, is the first Indian artiste to win the category's top acting honour, marking a significant milestone for India at the prestigious film gala.

‘Anora’ Wins Palme d’Or
US director Sean Baker’s ‘Anora’ won the top award, the Palme d’Or. “All We Imagine As Light” is an Indo-French co-production between petit chaos from France and Chalk and Cheese Films from India.
The main competition jury was chaired by filmmaker Greta Gerwig and also included Spanish director Juan Antonio Bayona, Turkish actor-screenwriter Ebru Ceylan, Italian actor Pierfrancesco Favino, American actor Lily Gladstone, Japanese director Hirokazu Kore-eda, Lebanese actor director Nadine Labaki and French stars Eva Green and French actor Omar Sy.
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THE TIMES OF INDIA (May 26, 2024)

Cannes: Filmmaker Payal Kapadia on Saturday scripted history as her drama ‘All We Imagine As Light’ won the Grand Prix award at the 2024 Cannes. The film bagged the award, which is the second most prestigious prize of the festival after Palme d’Or, during the closing ceremony.

Kapadia’s feature directorial debut already registered its name in the history books as it became the first Indian film in 30 years and first by an Indian female director to be showcased in the main competition.

The screening of Payal Kapadia’s film ‘All We Imagine As Light’, which was screened on Thursday, received an eight-minute standing ovation from the audience.

‘All We Imagine As Light’, a Malayalam-Hindi feature, is about Prabha, a nurse, who receives an unexpected gift from her long estranged husband that throws her life into disarray. Her younger roommate, Anu, tries in vain to find a private spot in the big city to be alone with her boyfriend. One day, the two nurses go on a road trip to a beach town where the forest becomes a space for their dreams to manifest, as per the plotline. International critics have given the film a thumbs up and praised Kapadia’s storytelling prowess.

An alumna of FTII, Kapadia is best known for her acclaimed documentary ‘A Night of Knowing Nothing’, which premiered at the 2021 Cannes Film Festival’s Director’s Fortnight side-bar where it won the Oeil d’or (Golden Eye) award. Her short film ‘Afternoon Clouds’ in Cinefondation, a category dedicated to supporting the next generation of talented filmmakers.

‘All We Imagine As Light’ is an Indo-French co-production between petit chaos from France & Chalk and Cheese Films from India. The main competition jury was chaired by filmmaker Greta Gerwig.