All We Imagine As Light director Payal Kapadia became the first Indian filmmaker to be conferred with the Spirit of Cinema award by the International Film Festival of Kerala (IFFK). The award was constituted in 2021 to honour fearless filmmakers who use cinema as a tool for social resistance. It has been previously awarded to Kurdish filmmaker Lisa Calan, Iranian filmmaker Mahnaz Mohammadi, and Kenya’s Wanuri Kahiu.
IFFK stated that Payal’s award-winning film at Cannes Film Festival 2024 was a testament to Payal’s central concerns about the marginalised. “Her perspective explores the intersections between cinema and politics. Her docu feature - A Night of Knowing Nothing, born out of the FTII protests and the pan Indian struggles against an increasingly repressive regime, won the Golden Eye Award for Best Documentary at the 2021 Cannes Film Festival in the Directors' Fortnight section,” it added.
All We Imagine As Light has been on an award-winning spree after Cannes, raising questions about India’s official selection to the Academy Awards. The film won the Best International Feature at the reputed Gotham Awards 2024 and chosen in the same category at the New York Film Critics Circle (NYCC). India has selected Kiran Rao’s Laapata Ladies as the country’s official selection to the Oscars. The film was also on the shortlist by France, before it eventually chose Emilia Perez as its entry. All We Imagine As Light will be screened at the film festival.
IFFK also noted that she was a prominent figure during the 139-day student protest at the Film and Television Institute of India (FTII), Pune, against the controversial appointment of Gajendra Chauhan as chairman in 2015, a year after the BJP government came into power. “Payal was one of 35 students arrested and faced institutional repercussions, including the cancellation of her scholarship,” they said.