Cannes 2024: Indian filmmaker Payal Kapadia makes history as film 'All We Imagine As Light' wins Grand Prix

Indian filmmaker Payal Kapadia made history when her drama film 'All We Imagine as Light' got the Grand Prix award at the 2024 Cannes Film Festival and received an 8-minute long standing ovation.

Indian filmmaker Payal Kapadia made history on Saturday when her captivating drama film 'All We Imagine as Light' received the Grand Prix award at the 2024 Cannes Film Festival. The film received the award, the festival's second-most prestigious accolade after the Palme d'Or, at the 77th edition's closing ceremony.

Payal Kapadia's feature directorial debut

'All We Imagine as Light' is Payal Kapadia's feature directorial debut, which screened on Thursday night and has received glowing reviews in the international press, has already made history as the first Indian film in 30 years, as well as the first by an Indian female director, to be shown in competition.

8-minute standing ovation

The audience gave the Malayalam-Hindi film an eight-minute standing ovation. 'All We Imagine as Light' tells the story of Prabha, a nurse, who gets an unexpected present from her estranged husband that throws her life into disarray. Her younger roommate, Anu, tries in vain to find a discreet area in the city to spend alone time with her boyfriend. According to the plot, the two nurses take a road trip to a coastal town, where the mystical forest serves as a venue for their fantasies to realize. 

Jury and the marks

International critics gave the film high marks and applauded Ms Kapadia's storytelling abilities. Filmmaker Greta Gerwig chaired the main competition jury, and it 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 Omar Sy.

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