Cannes 2024: Payal Kapadia’s “All We Imagine As Light” has swiftly emerged as a frontrunner for the Palme d’Or at the 77th Cannes Film Festival, marking a historic moment for Indian cinema.
If successful, Payal Kapadia would be the first Indian female director to compete for and potentially win Cannes’ most prestigious award. The film, which intricately weaves the stories of three women navigating their complex relationships with Mumbai, has garnered universal acclaim from critics as the festival draws to a close.
At a press conference on Friday morning, Payal Kapadia was joined by her principal actors Kani Kusruti, Divya Prabha, Hridhu Haroon, and Chhaya Kadam, along with cinematographer Ranabir Das and producers Thomas Hakim of Petit Chaos and Zico Maitra of Chalk and Cheese.
The film has received high praise, with the BBC describing it as “universal and emotional enough to hypnotise anyone who has been alone in a city, or been spellbound by a film on the subject.”
Variety’s Jessica Kiang noted Kapadia’s unique talent, highlighting her ability to find “passages of exquisite poetry within the banal blank verse of everyday Indian life.” Peter Bradshaw of The Guardian compared her storytelling to that of Satyajit Ray, calling it “fluent and absorbing,” yet acknowledged the film’s distinct originality.
At the press meet, Payal Kapadia explained the film’s title as a symbol of hope amidst bleak circumstances. “When things are looking a bit bleak sometimes and you don’t know whether there is a way out, you imagine that there might be a light somewhere down the line,” she said.
However, she emphasized that the film does not offer false hope, but rather celebrates the resilience of its characters. “When the characters are stuck in darkness, they cannot imagine light, they cannot see the possibility,” Payal Kapadia elaborated.
“All We Imagine As Light” beautifully captures the contrasting atmospheres of Mumbai’s bustling nights and traffic and the serene melancholy of a seaside village. The film’s poetic storytelling and compelling performances have positioned it within striking distance of the Palme d’Or, potentially carving a new chapter in the history of Indian cinema at Cannes.
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