‘All We Imagine As Light’ filmmaker Payal Kapadia on Oscar snub: 'Laapataa Ladies is a great film'

Payal Kapadia Pic/AFP

As India announced Kiran Rao's feminist dramedy Laapataa Ladies as its Oscar entry last month, it raised the question how Payal Kapadia's All We Imagine As Light, which won the Grand Prix prize at Cannes 2024, fell short of the nomination. Given its global acclaim and Cannes performance, Kapadia's film stood a strong chance of getting shortlisted in the best foreign film category at Oscars 2025.

But the filmmaker, who is now set to release the film in India, prefers rooting for Rao's work than mulling over the snub. When asked if it hurt that All We Imagine Was Light wasn't selected as India's entry, Kapadia smilingly said, "Laapataa Ladies is a great film. I was just happy. It's a wonderful film. All of us saw it and loved it. I loved Kiran Rao's previous film as well. I am just happy that it's selected and it's the film that's going to be there."

She also answered whether she would attempt at taking the film to Oscars independently. "It's going to release in America on November 15. The distribution will decide that once it releases, what's the response. We will see," Kapadia said here at an event to unveil the film's India release date. All We Imagine As Light, starring Kanu Shruti, Chhaya Kadam, and Hridhu Haroon, is set to arrive in Indian cinemas on November 22. It is being distributed by Telugu star-producer Rana Daggubati, who was also present at the event.

Kapadia said she was thrilled that the film was coming to home months after the Cannes win. "The win was all surreal. The film has taken many years to get made so we were happy with the selection alone. But what all of it has led to and what I am most excited about is that the film will release in India and people will buy tickets to watch my film. That makes me really happy," she said.

The filmmaker showered heavy praise at Daggubati and his team for their understanding of the kind of distribution a film like All We Imagine As Light needed.

"They had a very planned distribution approach, which understood what the film could do in different regions and in the Kerala film industry. The understanding of it that it's not a film that can just be released nationwide without a thought to kind of film it is. They were very sensitive to that. I respected that outlook to distribution."

Kapadia's directorial marks India's first-ever Grand Prix prize at the Cannes Film Festival. While it serves as a beacon of hope for filmmakers across the country, the film also draws attention to the support that Indian independent filmmaking urgently needs. Kapadia said that indie storytellers are always struggling and it would be nice if different film industries came together to back filmmakers and unique stories.

"As indie filmmakers, the challenge is at every step. Even if you get funding from India completely, the next step is distribution, where does it get shown? So indie filmmakers are struggling at every step of the way. The co-productions are the ones that go to the festival so they are printed in the news. But there are many films that are made locally and they get released in their regions but don't get a nationwide release. And then they come on OTT, like Mahesh Narayanan's Declaration which is a beautiful film. It arrived on Netflix but it should have had a theatrical release. Until a few years ago, we used to get grants. There was also distribution. Whether they were shown on Doordarshan, we could watch films like that. We need to have an access to funding or industries could meet each other because to make independent films, it doesn't cost that much. If there's a way we can communicate with each other and no matter how small or big a film is, it can get financed, wouldn't that be nice? The more films there are, the more diversity there is. It makes for a thriving film industry."

'All We Imagine As Light' follows three women in Mumbai, including Prabha, a nurse whose life doesn't remain the same after she receives a mysterious gift from her estranged husband.