Filmmaker Payal Kapadia today scripted history by becoming the first Indian filmmaker to win the Grand Prix award at the Cannes Film Festival for her film “All We Imagine as Light”. The film bagged the award, the second-most prestigious prize of the festival after the Palme d’Or, which went to American director Sean Baker for “Anora”. Kapadia’s movie, which screened on Thursday night, is the first Indian film in 30 years and the first ever by an Indian female director to be showcased in the main competition.
Kapadia’s film competed alongside works by world-renowned directors such as Francis Ford Coppola, Sean Baker, Yorgos Lanthimos, Paul Schrader, Magnus Von Horn, and Paolo Sorrentino. The jury was presided over by Greta Gerwig, director of ‘Ladybird’ and ‘Barbie’. Three years ago, Payal Kapadia won the ‘le prix du Documentaire’ for Best Documentary for ‘A Night of Knowing Nothing’ at Cannes. ‘All We Imagine As Light’ is her first feature film. ‘All We Imagine As Light’, an Indo-French production, tells the story of a nurse named Prabha who receives an unexpected gift from her estranged husband, causing disruption in her life.
Other Indian films that have previously been selected for the Cannes competition section include works by Chetan Anand, V Shantaram, Raj Kapoor, Satyajit Ray, MS Sathyu, and Mrinal Sen. ‘Neecha Nagar’ remains the only Indian film to have won a Palme d’Or.
Disclaimer: This press release is sourced from News On AIR, Prasar Bharti and Press Information Bureau India (PIB).
