“All We Imagine As Light," the First Indian Film to Compete at the Cannes Film Festival in 30 Years

"Shining Through Shadows: The Journey of Indian Cinema at Cannes"

Written by: Supriya Kadu

Edited by: Omkar Devadkar

Last Updated: April 12, 2024

Summary: After around 30 years, Payal Kapadia's debut feature, "All We Imagine As Light," is the first Indian film to be considered for the Palme d'Or at the Cannes Film Festival.

All We Imagine As Light, written and directed by Payal Kapadia, will be the top competition film at the next Cannes Film Festival, an Indian film after an incredibly long wait of thirty years, the final one being 'Swaham' by Shaji N. Karun in 1994. At a press conference on Thursday in Paris, the festival's president, Iris Knobloch, and general delegate, Thierry Fremaux, made this announcement.

Alongside films from well-known directors including Paolo Sorrentino, Paul Schrader, Yorgos Lanthimos, Sean Baker, Francis Ford Coppola, and Magnus Von Horn, Kapadia's film will face competition. Greta Gerwig, the filmmaker of "Barbie" and "Ladybird," will serve on the jury.

Kapadia is a well-known personality at Cannes. In the 2021 edition, her documentary "A Night of Knowing Nothing" took home the Golden Eye for best documentary. An Indo-French play titled "All We Imagine As Light" narrates the tale of Prabha, a nurse, who is upended in her life by an unexpected gift from her divorced husband that makes her uneasy. Anu, her roommate and younger companion, is frantically looking for a private place to spend time with her partner. Eventually, the two women travel to a beach town, where they are able to freely express their aspirations and dreams.

Previous selections for the competitive portion of Cannes include films by Chetan Anand (Neecha Nagar, 1946), V Shantaram (Amar Bhoopali, 1952), Raj Kapoor (Awaara, 1952), Satyajit Ray (Parash Pathar, 1958), MS Sathyu (Garm Hava, 1974), and Mrinal Sen (Kharij, 1983), among other Indian filmmakers. The only Indian movie to have won a Palme d'Or is "Neecha Nagar.”