BFI Distribution has announced the UK and Irish cinema release of the 2024 Cannes Film Festival Grand Prix winner, “All We Imagine as Light”, on 29 November 2024. The acclaimed film, directed by Payal Kapadia, will also be available on BFI Blu-ray and BFI Player in early 2025.
“All We Imagine as Light” features Kani Kusruti, Divya Prabha, and Chhaya Kadam in leading roles and is notable for being the first Indian film in three decades to compete in the Official Competition at Cannes. Payal Kapadia made history as the first female Indian director to have a film in this prestigious category. The film received an eight-minute standing ovation at its Cannes premiere, followed by widespread critical acclaim and glowing 5-star reviews.
Described as a beautiful fusion of Indian storytelling with the aesthetic of a European arthouse classic, “All We Imagine as Light” delves into the intricate dynamics of female friendship against the backdrop of the vibrant and chaotic city of Mumbai. The film brilliantly captures the pulse of modern Mumbai, portraying its fast pace, vivid colors, and intoxicating atmosphere.
The story revolves around three women navigating their complex lives in Mumbai. Nurse Prabha, played by Kani Kusruti, has her routine disrupted by an unexpected gift from her estranged husband. Her younger roommate Anu, portrayed by Divya Prabha, struggles to find privacy in the crowded city to be with her secret boyfriend. Meanwhile, their colleague Parvaty, played by Chhaya Kadam, battles to keep her home despite the lack of necessary paperwork left by her deceased husband. A trip to a beach town offers each of them a chance to explore their desires.
Payal Kapadia, a Mumbai-based filmmaker and graduate of the Film & Television Institute of India, has previously garnered attention with her short films Afternoon Clouds (2017) and And What Is The Summer Saying (2018), which premiered at Cannes Cinéfondation and Berlinale, respectively. Her first feature, A Night of Knowing Nothing (2021), won the Golden Eye Documentary Prize at the 2021 Cannes Directors’ Fortnight.
Kapadia said, “Although All We Imagine as Light is my first fiction feature, it’s still very important to me that fiction and documentary can exist together. What I try to do is approach fiction in a non-fiction way. I find the juxtaposition of the two very interesting and I strongly believe that it makes the non-fiction more fiction and the fiction more non-fiction.”
“All We Imagine as Light” is a co-production between France, India, The Netherlands, and Luxembourg. The film was produced by Thomas Hakim and Julien Graff of Petit Chaos in Paris, and Zico Maitra of Chalk & Cheese Films in Mumbai, with additional support from Arte France Cinéma, Baldr Film (Netherlands), Another Birth (India), Les Films Fauves (Luxembourg), and Pulpa Film (Italy). European development funds, including the Hubert Bals Fund from Rotterdam and the Cannes Cinéfondation Residency, enabled Kapadia to develop the film in Europe before beginning production in India.
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