All About Payal Kapadia’s Journey to a Historic Win for ‘All We Imagine as Light’ at Cannes

Director Payal Kapadia has made history by becoming the first-ever Indian woman filmmaker to win ‘Le Grand Prix’ at the 2024 Cannes Film Festival.

Floral She won the prestigious award for her film ‘All We Imagine as Light’. The film also got an 8-minute standing ovation from the audience.

Here is everything you need to know about the outstanding filmmaker and her poignant film. Earlier known for her film ‘A Night of Knowing Nothing’ which premiered in the festival in 2021, Kapadia was raised in Mumbai and went to the Film and Television Institute of India.

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A rebel of her times, disciplinary action was taken against Payal after she boycotted her classes in 2015 for the appointment of actor-turned-politician Gajendra Chauhan as the chairman of the institution, when the batch questioned his credentials for the post.

Years later, her film ‘All We Imagine As Light’, is the story of a nurse named Prabha whose life takes an unexpected turn when she receives a mysterious gift from her estranged husband who moved to Germany.

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“This film is about friendship between three women, and oftentimes women are pitted against each other. This is the way society is designed and it is very unfortunate. But for me friendship is a very important relationship because it can lead to greater solidarity, inclusivity and empathy towards each other,” she told The Indian Express.

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The film was initially a 20-minute short piece Payal wrote for her diploma project at her college. Now, the full film spans 115 minutes.

Payal thanked her leading ladies, Kani Kusruti, Divya Prabha and Chhaya Kadam, and said that the film would not have been possible without them.

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Floral In an interview with Brut India , she expresses her disbelief at her win by saying, “I am pinching myself… It is unbelievable, and I am really honoured and feel very privileged to be here.” For her historic win, Prime Minister Narendra Modi took to X to congratulate the filmmaker. “This prestigious accolade not only honours her exceptional skills but also inspires a new generation of Indian filmmakers,” he said.