New Delhi:
Hollywood star Jodie Foster has watched “All We Imagine as Light” twice, says filmmaker Payal Kapadia on her critically acclaimed film, which is consistently garnering recognition in awards fields.
Kapadia received the Best International Film award by the New York Film Critics Circle (NYFCC) on Wednesday evening.
In his acceptance speech, he thanked the film’s distributor in the US for helping him connect with many people in Hollywood.
He recalled attending the 82nd Golden Globe Awards, where “All We Imagine as Light” was nominated in two categories – Best Non-English Motion Picture and Best Director.
“We were at the Golden Globes a few days ago and Jodie Foster watched our movie twice. I never would have dreamed of it in a million years, so I’m really grateful to our distributors here and around the world.” Said.
Kapadia said that when she first came to the US in September 2024, she didn’t know “what was going to happen” and was “a little scared about what the film industry would be like here”.
“And then I got to the Telluride Film Festival, the first time I’d ever been to this country. I have to say, it was great. I’ve met a lot of incredible people here in America, and felt the generosity of the film community. Bhavana, thank you all very much for this, and especially for the tremendous support from the critics,” he said.
The recognition that “All We Imagine as Light” has received over the past few months has helped the film “reach more people not only here but in India as well”.
“People read what you write in India too, so it’s really great for us,” he said.
After creating history by becoming the first Indian film to win the Grand Prix trophy at the Cannes Film Festival last year, “All We Imagine as Light” continues its winning streak on international platforms.
Starring Kani Kusruti, Divya Prabha and Chhaya Kadam, the film explores love, longing and loneliness in the bustling city of Mumbai through three women, two Malayali nurses – Prabha and Anu – and their friend Parvati, a cook.
Malayalam-Hindi film Petit Chaos, produced by Chalk & Cheese and Another Birth.
Although the film failed to convert its two awards into wins at the Golden Globes, it has continued to receive nominations at various awards.
The film, about two Malayali nurses working in Mumbai and their friend, a cook, has been nominated in the Best Foreign Language Film category at the 30th annual Critics’ Choice Awards to be held on January 12.
The film recently won Best International Film at the Gotham Awards.
It claimed the top spot on Sight & Sound magazine’s annual list of the 50 best films of the year.
It is also expected to earn a BAFTA nomination where it is longlisted.
Kapadia’s film was released in Indian theaters on 22 November and received positive reviews. Although it was not chosen by the selection committee in India to represent the country in the Oscar category, many in India are expecting the film to receive recognition at the 2025 Academy Awards in the general categories.
“All We Imagine as Light” is being distributed in the US by Janus Films and Sideshow. Rana Daggubati’s Spirit Media released the film across India.
At the NYFCC, “The Brutalist” won best picture and its star Adrien Brody won best actor. The Best Director award went to Rammell Ross for “Nickel Boys” and the Best Screenplay trophy went to Sean Baker for “Anora”.
Other winners included Marianne Jean-Baptiste as best actress for “Hard Truths”, Kieran Culkin as best supporting actor for “A Real Pain”.
“Between the Temples” star Carol Kane was named best supporting actress.
The NYFCC recognized “Flow” as Best Animated Film and “No Other Land” as Best Non-Fiction Film.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
