Cinematic auteur Payal Kapadia has etched her name in the annals of history with her mesmerizing drama All We Imagine As Light, which clinched the esteemed Grand Prix accolade at the 2024 Cannes Film Festival. This cinematic marvel seized the award, second only to the revered Palme d’Or, during the grand conclusion of the festival’s 77th iteration. Unveiled to the world on a Thursday evening, Kapadia’s directorial maiden voyage has garnered laudatory acclaim from the global press.
This film has already carved out its place in the chronicles, marking the first Indian film in three decades and the inaugural entry by an Indian female director to grace the main competition. The audience response was nothing short of euphoric, with the screening culminating in an eight-minute standing ovation. All We Imagine as Light, a Malayalam-Hindi feature, delves into the life of Prabha, a nurse whose existence is upended by an unforeseen gift from her estranged husband. Concurrently, her younger housemate, Anu, struggles to find a secluded nook in the bustling metropolis to rendezvous with her paramour.
In a poignant twist, the duo embarks on a road sojourn to a coastal town, where an enigmatic forest becomes a sanctuary for their aspirations to materialize, as the narrative unfolds. The film has been extolled by international critics, who have lauded Kapadia’s narrative finesse. An alumna of the venerable Film & Television Institute of India (FTII) in Pune, Kapadia previously garnered acclaim for her documentary A Night of Knowing Nothing, which premiered in the Director’s Fortnight sidebar at the 2021 Cannes Film Festival, where it was honored with the Oeil d’or (Golden Eye) award.
Peruse the roster of laureates at the 77th Cannes Festival, curated by a jury presided over by director Greta Gerwig:
- PALME d’OR: Anora
- GRAND PRIX: All We Imagine As Light
- JURY PRIZE: Emilia Perez
- SPECIAL PRIZE: The Seed of the Sacred Fig
- BEST ACTOR: Jesse Plemons, Kinds of Kindness
- BEST ACTRESS: Ensemble of Emilia Perez – Karla Sofía Gascón, Zoe Saldaña, Selena Gomez, and Adriana Paz
- BEST DIRECTOR: Miguel Gomes, Grand Tour
- BEST SCREENPLAY: The Substance
- BEST FIRST FEATURE (Camera d’Or): Armand