Filmmaker Payal Kapadia, who won the Grand Prix at the Cannes Film Festival last year for her film All We Imagine As Light, on Tuesday said the award played a key role in the release and distribution of the film in her home country India.
Kapadia, serving on the jury led by French actress Juliette Binoche at the 2025 Cannes Film Festival, spoke about the response to her film in India during the event’s opening press conference.
Kapadia’s All We Imagine as Light grabbed headlines after winning the Grand Prix award at Cannes Film Festival in 2024. The film, which is an ode to friendship and Mumbai, brought India back into the competition segment of Cannes after 30 years.
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.
“Our film coming here in Cannes and getting the recognition and all of you writing about it really helped us to get the film out. Even the distribution in India was helped by that,” Kapadia said.
“I’m really grateful. The one thing (you want) as a filmmaker is that your film should be watched by the people in your own country and everywhere else. So that was a really big bonus for me.” she added.
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.
Kapadia’s film was 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.
Besides Kapadia, the Cannes jury this year features American actor and filmmaker Halle Berry, Italian actor Alba Rohrwacher, French-Moroccan author Leïla Slimani, Congolese director-producer Dieudo Hamadi, Korean filmmaker Hong Sangsoo, Mexican director Carlos Reygadas and American actor Jeremy Strong.
Speaking as a jury member, Kapadia said it was an honour to watch the films competing for the prestigious Palme d’Or.
“It’s like experiencing the best of world cinema for the very first time,” she said, adding, “As a cinephile, I’m genuinely thrilled.”
Having completed her film training at the Film and Television Institute of India, Kapadia directed several short films, including Afternoon Clouds, which was presented at La Cinéfondation in 2017. She is also known for her non-fiction film A Night of Knowing Nothing.
Payal Kapadia is currently working on two new films set in her hometown, Mumbai, which will form a thematic trilogy alongside All We Imagine As Light.
The 78th Cannes Film Festival began on Tuesday and will run until May 24.
