Indian filmmaker Payal Kapadia’s All We Imagine as Light won the best feature film award at the 7th Critics Choice Awards, the organisers announced on Wednesday.
“Let’s give it up for the winners of the Critics’ Choice Award for Best Feature Film - All We Imagine As Light! A tender, nuanced and compassionate portrait of urban connection and unexpected sisterhood that the critics are proud to regard as the Best Feature Film from 2024,” reads the announcement by the awards ceremony’s Instagram page.
All We Imagine as Light grabbed headlines after winning the Grand Prix award at Cannes Film Festival in 2024. However, it failed to get a nod at the 97th Oscars. After failing to get nominated as India’s official entry for the Oscars, the film ran an independent campaign for all the categories, including best picture, director and best original screenplay.
Kapadia’s film has been on a winning streak since last year’s Cannes. All We Imagine As Light was also named best international feature film at the 2024 Gotham Awards, New York Film Critics Circle, Los Angeles, Chicago Film Critics Association, San Diego Film Critics Society, Phoenix Critics Circle, Toronto Film Critics Association, Lumiere Awards and Asia Pacific Film Awards.
All We Imagine As Light was also nominated for two Golden Globe Awards, including best film not in English language and best director.
Actor-singer Diljit Dosanjh won best actor award for his role in Amar Singh Chamkila, while Darshana Rajendran clinched the best actress trophy for her performance in Paradise at the awards ceremony on Tuesday.
Among other winners were Ravi Kishan, who bagged the best supporting actor award for Laapataa Ladies and Kani Kusruti as best supporting actress for Girls Will Be Girls.
Set in Mumbai, All We Imagine As Light revolves around two nurses who are also roommates. Prabha's usual schedule is disrupted when she unexpectedly receives a gift from her estranged husband. Meanwhile, her younger roommate, Anu, struggles to find a private place in the bustling city to spend time with her boyfriend. A getaway to a seaside town provides them with the perfect opportunity to fulfil their desires.
All We Imagine As Light features Kani Kusruti, Divya Prabha, Chhaya Kadam and Hridhu Haroon in key roles. The film is produced by France's Petit Chaos along with co-producers including India’s Chalk & Cheese, France’s Arte France Cinema, the Netherlands’ Baldr Film, India’s Another Birth, Luxembourg’s Les Films Fauves and Italy’s Pulpa Film.
The film is currently available to stream on Disney+ Hotstar.