Cannes/New Delhi. Filmmaker Payal Kapadia has created history by becoming the first Indian filmmaker to win the ‘Grand Prix’ award at the prestigious Cannes Film Festival for her film ‘All We Imagine as Light’. This is the second most prestigious award of the festival after the ‘Palme d’Or’. The most prestigious award of the film festival, which ended on Saturday night, was given to American director Sean Baker’s film ‘Anora’.
Kapadia’s film was released on Thursday night. This is the first Indian film by an Indian female director to be screened in the main competition in 30 years. The last Indian film selected for the main competition was Shaji N Karun’s 1994 film “Swaham”. Kapadia was presented the ‘Grand Prix’ award by American actor Viola Davis. While receiving the award, she thanked the three actresses who played the lead roles in the film – Kani Kusruti, Divya Prabha and Chhaya Kadam and said that this film would not have been made without them.
Kapadia said, “I am very nervous so I wrote something. Thank you Cannes Film Festival for showing our film here. Please don’t wait 30 years for another Indian film.” She said, “This film is about friendship, about three women with very different temperaments. Many times women stand against each other. Our society is built this way and it is very unfortunate but for me friendship is a very important relationship because it creates more solidarity, inclusiveness and empathy.”
The Malayalam-Hindi feature film ‘All We Imagine as Light’ is about a nurse Prabha who gets an unexpected gift from her long-estranged husband which turns her life upside down. The film was in the race to win this award after the audience stood up for eight minutes after it was screened at the Cannes Festival and received rave reviews from international film critics. Earlier on Friday, Anasuya Sengupta, one of the lead actors of Bulgarian director Konstantin Bozanov’s Hindi-language film ‘The Shameless’, created history by winning the Best Actress award in the ‘Un Certain Regard’ category at the 2024 Cannes Film Festival.
PM congratulates Director Payal Kapadia on winning award at the Cannes Film Festival
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday said the country is proud of director Payal Kapadia, who has become the first Indian filmmaker to win the ‘Grand Prix’ award at the 2024 Cannes Film Festival for her film ‘All We Imagine as Light’. Modi also said that through her remarkable talent, the Film and Television Institute of India (FTII) alumnus has given a “glimpse of India’s rich creativity”.
In a post on ‘X’, he said, “India is proud of Payal Kapadia for her historic achievement of winning the ‘Grand Prix’ at the 77th Cannes Film Festival for her work ‘All We Imagine as Light’. The remarkable talent of the FTII alumnus shines on the global stage with a glimpse of India’s rich creativity. This prestigious award not only honours her exceptional skills but also inspires a new generation of Indian filmmakers.”