All We Imagine as Light is a 2024 drama film written and directed by Payal Kapadia. The cast includes Kani Kusruti, Divya Prabha, Chhaya Kadam and Hridhu Haroon. The film was an international co-production involving companies from France, India, the Netherlands, Luxembourg, and Italy.
| All We Imagine as Light | |
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 Promotional poster | |
| Directed by | Payal Kapadia |
| Written by | Payal Kapadia |
| Produced by |
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| Starring | |
| Cinematography | Ranabir Das |
| Edited by | Clément Pinteaux |
| Music by |
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Production companies |
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| Distributed by |
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Release dates |
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Running time | 115 minutes |
| Countries |
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| Languages | Malayalam Hindi Marathi |
| Box office | $1.4 million[1] |
All We Imagine as Light premiered at the 77th Cannes Film Festival on 23 May 2024.[2][3] It was the first film from India to compete in the main competition since 1994, and won the Grand Prix.
Plot
editPrabha and Anu are Malayali nurses living together in Mumbai. Prabha is straitlaced and upright, and yearns for her husband who migrated to Germany soon after their marriage. Anu is more outgoing, and is having a secret affair with a Muslim man named Shiaz. A doctor, Manoj, tries to woo Prabha, but she rejects his advances, claiming her marital status. One day, Prabha and Anu receive a modern rice cooker from an unknown sender.
Prabha tries to help the cook at their hospital, Parvaty, fight against a capitalistic builder who wants to demolish Parvaty's chawl to build a high-rise. Unable to claim ownership of land, Parvarty decides to quit her job and move back to her village in Ratnagiri. Prabha and Anu travel with her, to help her relocate.
Unbeknownst to Prabha and Parvaty, Shiaz has followed Anu. They secretly meet up and have sex, which Prabha discovers. Meanwhile, Prabha rescues a middle-aged man from drowning by resuscitating him with CPR. When he is admitted to hospital, Prabha cleans and cares for him. She begins having a conversation with him, transforming him into her husband. He apologises for abandoning her and seeks her apology, before kissing her.
Late at night at a beach shack, a much-happier Prabha asks a surprised Anu to invite Shiaz to sit with them. They all sit together, happily, as the lights of the shack shine over them.
Cast
edit- Kani Kusruti as Prabha
- Divya Prabha as Anu
- Chhaya Kadam as Parvaty
- Hridhu Haroon as Shiaz
- Azees Nedumangad as Dr. Manoj
- Tintumol Joseph as Nurse Shanet
- Anand Sami as Drowned Man
Production
editThe film was produced by Thomas Hakim and Julian Graff through their French-based company Petit Chaos, in co-production with the Indian companies Chalk & Cheese Films and Another Birth, as well as by the Netherlands's BALDR Film, Luxembourg's Les Films Fauves, Italy's Pulpa Films and France's Arte France Cinéma. Hakim first met Kapadia at the 68th Berlin International Film Festival in 2018. This was the first feature film produced by Chalk & Cheese, which previously produced commercials for nine years.[4][5]
Kapadia used money from the Huub Bals grant and Cinéfondation to reside in Europe in order to plan the film production with Hakim. Financing for the film was obtained from Arte, Cineworld, CNC, Condor, Eurimages, Gan Foundation, Hubert Bals Fund, Luxbox, Pulpa Film, and Visions Sud Est.[4]
Filming was done in Mumbai over the course of twenty-five days and then in Ratnagiri for fifteen days.[4]
Release
edit
All We Imagine as Light was selected to compete for the Palme d'Or at the 2024 Cannes Film Festival, where it had its world premiere on 23 May,[6] and received an eight minute standing ovation at the end of its screening.[7][8] This is the first film from India to compete in the main competition at Cannes since Swaham in 1994, and Kapadia is the first Indian female filmmaker to do so.[4] It won the Grand Prix, becoming the first Indian film to do so.[9]
On 9 September 2024, it was announced that Spirit Media, founded by Indian actor Rana Daggubati, had acquired Indian distribution rights to the film.[10] Spirit Media announced that the film would begin its Oscar-qualifying release with a limited theatrical release in Kerala starting on 21 September under the Malayalam title Prabhayay Ninachathellam.[11]
The film has been selected as the opening film for the MAMI Mumbai Film Festival 2024.[12] The film will be released theatrically in India on 22 November 2024.[13][14]
Janus Films and distribution partner Sideshow acquired the North American rights for the film on 20 May 2024,[15] and released the film on 15 November 2024 in New York and Los Angeles, with a nationwide expansion planned.[16] The film was also played at the Toronto International Film Festival on 5 September 2024.[17] It was released in France by Condor Distribution on 2 October 2024.[18]
Reception
editCritical response
editOn the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, 100% of 83 critics' reviews are positive, with an average rating of 8.7/10. The website's consensus reads: "Capturing the here and now of modern India with the spontaneity of a candid photograph, All We Imagine as Light is a lustrous achievement that announces Payal Kapadia as an essential filmmaker."[19] Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned the film a score of 93 out of 100, based on 25 critics, indicating "universal acclaim".[20] On AlloCiné, the film received an average rating of 3.8 out of 5, based on 31 reviews from French critics.[21]
Peter Bradshaw, writing in The Guardian, gave the film five stars and praised it as an "absorbing story of three nurses that is full of humanity".[22] Nicholas Barber, writing in the BBC, also gave the film five stars.[23]
All We Imagine as Light was one of the 4 films shortlisted by France's Oscar committee to be selected as the country's official submission for the Best International Feature Film category at the 97th Academy Awards.[24][25] It was not selected to be the submission for either India or France, which selected Laapataa Ladies and Emilia Pérez respectively.[26] Ravi Kottarakara, president of the Film Federation of India, stated that the selection committee felt "that they were watching a European film taking place in India, not an Indian film taking place in India". Kapadia was critical of the Indian committee as it was entirely male.[27]
Accolades
editReferences
edit- ^ "All We Imagine as Light (2024)". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved 18 November 2024.
- ^ "Payal Kapadia's All We Imagine as Light is first Indian film in 30 years to make it to Cannes' competition section". Indian Express. 11 April 2024. Archived from the original on 5 May 2024. Retrieved 5 May 2024.
- ^ Chhabra, Aseem (24 May 2024). "All We Imagine as Light: Indian sisterhood story earns glowing reviews at Cannes". BBC Home. Archived from the original on 28 May 2024. Retrieved 25 May 2024.
- ^ a b c d Ntim, Zac (18 May 2024). "Made In India: The World's Biggest Film Industry Hasn't Had A Film In The Cannes Competition Since 1994 ... Until Now". Deadline Hollywood. Archived from the original on 19 May 2024.
- ^ Hopewell, John (7 August 2022). "Cannes Best Doc Laureate Payal Kapadia Next Racks Up Production Partners for Petit Chaos (EXCLUSIVE)". Variety. Archived from the original on 25 May 2024.
- ^ "The Screenings Guide of the 77th Festival de Cannes". Cannes Film Festival. 8 May 2024. Archived from the original on 25 May 2024.
- ^ "Cannes 2024: Payal Kapadia's 'All We Imagine As Light' brings India back in competition with eight-minute standing ovation". The Hindu. 24 May 2024. Archived from the original on 25 May 2024.
- ^ "Payal Kapadia's 'All We Imagine As Light', The First Indian Film In The Cannes Competition In 30 Years, Gets 8-Minute Ovation Following World Premiere". Deadline Hollywood. 23 May 2024. Archived from the original on 25 May 2024. Retrieved 24 May 2024.
- ^ Das, Santanu (25 May 2024). "Cannes Film Festival: All We Imagine As Light scripts history, becomes first Indian film to win Grand Prix". Hindustan Times. Archived from the original on 25 May 2024.
- ^ Ramachandran, Naman (9 September 2023). "'Baahubali' Star Rana Daggubati's Spirit Media Acquires India Rights to Payal Kapadia's Cannes Winner 'All We Imagine as Light'". Variety.
- ^ Ramachandran, Naman (18 September 2023). "Cannes Prizewinner 'All We Imagine as Light' to Begin Indian Oscar-Qualifying Run With Kerala Theatrical Release". Variety.
- ^ Staff, Scroll (9 October 2024). "MAMI Mumbai Film Festival will open with Payal Kapadia's 'All We Imagine as Light'". Scroll.in. Retrieved 11 October 2024.
- ^ "Payal Kapadia's Cannes winner All We Imagine As Light to release in India on this date - Check details here". Hindustan Times. 17 October 2024. Retrieved 16 November 2024.
- ^ "Payal Kapadia's Cannes winner 'All We Imagine As Light' to release on November 22". The Times of India. 17 October 2024. Retrieved 16 November 2024.
- ^ Keslassy, Elsa (20 May 2024). "Sideshow, Janus Films Buy Payal Kapadia's Cannes Competition Entry 'All We Imagine as Light' for North America (EXCLUSIVE)". Variety. Archived from the original on 25 May 2024.
- ^ Davis, Clayton (22 August 2024). "Indian Oscar Hopeful and Cannes Grand Prix Winner 'All We Imagine as Light' Sets U.S. Fall Release Date (EXCLUSIVE)". Variety. Retrieved 15 November 2024.
- ^ "All We Imagine as Light". Toronto International Film Festival. Retrieved 19 August 2024.
- ^ "All We Imagine as Light" (in French). Condor. Retrieved 15 July 2024.
- ^ "All We Imagine as Light". Rotten Tomatoes. Fandango Media. Retrieved 4 October 2024.
- ^ "All We Imagine as Light". Metacritic. Fandom, Inc. Retrieved 31 May 2024.
- ^ "All We Imagine as Light: Les critiques presse" (in French). AlloCiné. Retrieved 9 October 2024.
- ^ Bradshaw, Peter (23 May 2024). "All We Imagine As Light review – dreamlike and gentle modern Mumbai tale is a triumph". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 25 May 2024.
- ^ Barber, Nicholas (24 May 2024). "All We Imagine as Light review: Will this 'magical' ode to nocturnal Mumbai win the Palme d'Or?". BBC. Archived from the original on 25 May 2024.
- ^ "Payal Kapadia's All We Imagine As Light shortlisted by France for Oscars". The News Minute. 17 September 2024.
- ^ Ramachandran, Naman; Keslassy, Elsa (13 September 2024). "Cannes Winner 'All We Imagine as Light' at Center of Oscar Entry Battle Between France and India (EXCLUSIVE)". Variety. Archived from the original on 13 September 2024.
- ^ Shackleton, Liz (29 October 2024). "'All We Imagine As Light' Director Payal Kapadia On Indie Filmmaking, Oscars Snub In Conversation With Hirokazu Kore-eda". Deadline Hollywood. Archived from the original on 7 November 2024.
- ^ Coyle, Jake (15 November 2024). "Payal Kapadia, director of 'All We Imagine as Light,' sees another way". Associated Press. Archived from the original on 21 November 2024.
- ^ Ntim, Zac (11 April 2024). "Cannes Film Festival Lineup Set: Competition Includes Coppola, Audiard, Cronenberg, Arnold, Lanthimos, Sorrentino & Abbasi's Trump Movie — Full List". Deadline. Retrieved 9 May 2024.
- ^ Richlin, Harrison (25 May 2024). "'Anora' Wins the Palme d'Or at Cannes (Complete Winners List)". Indiewire. Archived from the original on 11 June 2024. Retrieved 25 May 2024.
- ^ "Prix des Cinémas Art et Essai 2024 : LES GRAINES DU FIGUIER SAUVAGE de Mohammad Rasoulof". Association Française des Cinémas d'Art et d'Essai (in French). Archived from the original on 5 June 2024. Retrieved 25 May 2024.
- ^ Rosser, Michael (7 May 2024). "Sydney Film Festival reveals 2024 competition line-up". Screen Daily. Archived from the original on 27 August 2024. Retrieved 26 August 2024.
- ^ "Todos los ganadores del Festival de San Sebastián 2024". Escribiendo Cine. 28 September 2024.
- ^ Kay, Jeremy (20 September 2024). "'All We Imagine As Light', 'The End', 'Harvest' among Chicago International Film Festival line-up (exclusive)". ScreenDaily. Retrieved 20 September 2024.
- ^ Blauvelt, Christian (25 October 2024). "Chicago International Film Festival Awards Top Prizes to 'Vermiglio,' 'All We Imagine as Light'". IndieWire. Retrieved 26 October 2024.
- ^ Bergeson, Samantha (28 October 2024). "Montclair Film Festival Announces 2024 Winners: 'All We Imagine as Light' Takes Top Prize". IndieWire. Archived from the original on 7 November 2024.
- ^ "17th ASIA PACIFIC SCREEN AWARDS NOMINATIONS ANNOUNCED". Asia Pacific Screen Awards. 16 October 2024. Retrieved 17 October 2024.
- ^ "The Gothams Announce Award Nominees for 34th Edition | The Gotham". The Gotham. 29 October 2024. Retrieved 30 October 2024.
- ^ Lattanzio, Ryan (29 October 2024). "'Anora,' 'Babygirl,' 'Challengers' Among Top Gotham Awards Nominees — Full List". IndieWire. Retrieved 30 October 2024.
- ^ Szalai, Georg (5 November 2024). "British Independent Film Awards: 'Kneecap,' 'Love Lies Bleeding' Lead Nominations". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 6 November 2024.
