Payal Kapadia (filmmaker)

Payal Kapadia (born 4 January 1986)[1] is an Indian filmmaker. In 2017, her short film Afternoon Clouds was the only Indian film selected for the 70th Cannes Film Festival.[2] In 2021, she won the Golden Eye award for best documentary film at the 74th Cannes Film Festival for her debut feature A Night of Knowing Nothing.[3][4][5]

Payal Kapadia
Payal Kapadia at 2024 Cannes Film Festival
Born (1986-01-04) 4 January 1986 (age 39)
Mumbai, India
NationalityIndian
Alma materFilm and Television Institute of India
Occupations
  • Film director
  • screenwriter
Years active2014–present

In 2024, she won the Grand Prix at the 77th Cannes Film Festival for her fiction feature debut All We Imagine as Light.[6][7] It also earned her a nomination for the Golden Globe Award for Best Director.[8]

Early life and education

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Payal Kapadia was born in Mumbai on 4 January 1986[1][9] to painter and video artist Nalini Malani and psychoanalyst Shailesh Kapadia.[10][better source needed]

Kapadia went to Rishi Valley School, a boarding school in Andhra Pradesh. Here she had her first exposure to avant-garde filmmakers like Ritwik Ghatak and Andrei Tarkovsky, as she was part of the school's film club. She studied at St. Xavier's College, Mumbai,and also earned a one-year master's degree from Sophia College for Women.[11]

She then went on to study film direction at the Film and Television Institute of India,[12] where she was selected on her second attempt in 2012. In between for five years she worked in Mumbai, in advertising and assisting a video artist.[11]

Career

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In 2017, Kapadia's short film Afternoon Clouds was the only Indian film selected for the 70th Cannes Film Festival.[13]

In 2021, she won the Golden Eye award for best documentary film at the 74th Cannes Film Festival for her debut feature A Night of Knowing Nothing.[14][15][16]

In 2024, Kapadia won the Grand Prix at the 77th Cannes Film Festival for her fiction feature debut All We Imagine as Light.[17][18] It also earned her a nomination for the Golden Globe Award for Best Director,[8] and was a special feature in the Limelight section of the 54th International Film Festival Rotterdam, where it will be screened on 30 January 2025.[19]

Filmography

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– Indicates Documentary film
Year Title Credited as Notes
Director Writer Other
2014 Watermelon, Fish and Half Ghost Yes No No Short film
2015 The Last Mango Before the Monsoon Yes Yes Editor
2017 Afternoon Clouds Yes Yes No
2018 And What is the Summer Saying Yes Yes No
2021 A Night of Knowing Nothing Yes Yes No
2024 All We Imagine as Light Yes Yes No

Accolades

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Award Year Category Work Result Ref.
Asia Pacific Screen Awards 2021 Best Film A Night of Knowing Nothing Nominated [20]
2024 All We Imagine as Light Nominated [21]
Best Director Nominated
Best Screenplay Nominated
British Independent Film Awards 2024 Best International Independent Film All We Imagine as Light Nominated [22]
Cahiers du Cinéma 2024 Annual Top 10 All We Imagine as Light 5th place [23]
Camden International Film Festival 2021 Cinematic Vision Award A Night of Knowing Nothing Won [24]
Cannes Film Festival 2021 Caméra d'Or A Night of Knowing Nothing Nominated [25]
L'Œil d'or Won [26]
2024 Palme d'Or All We Imagine as Light Nominated [27]
Grand Prix Won [28]
Prix des Cinémas Art et Essai – Special Mention Won [29]
Chicago Film Critics Association 2024 Milos Stehlik Award for Breakthrough Filmmaker All We Imagine as Light Pending [30]
Chicago International Film Festival 2024 Silver Hugo – Jury Prize All We Imagine as Light Won [31]
Cinema Eye Honors 2023 Outstanding Nonfiction Feature A Night of Knowing Nothing Nominated [32]
[33]
Outstanding Direction Nominated
Outstanding Debut Nominated
Directors Guild of America Awards 2025 Michael Apted Award for Outstanding Directorial Achievement in First-Time Theatrical Feature Film All We Imagine as Light Pending [34]
Fribourg International Film Festival 2019 Best International Short Film Award And What Is the Summer Saying? Won [35]
Golden Globe Awards 2025 Best Director – Motion Picture All We Imagine as Light Nominated [36]
Gotham Awards 2024 Best Director All We Imagine as Light Nominated [37]
Best International Feature Won
Lisbon & Estoril Film Festival 2021 Best Film Award A Night of Knowing Nothing Won [38]
Mill Valley Film Festival 2024 Mind the Gap Award Honored [39]
[40]
Mirage Film Festival 2022 MIRAGE Award – Directing A Night of Knowing Nothing Won [41]
[42]
Montclair Film Festival 2024 Fiction Feature Prize All We Imagine as Light Won [43]
[44]
National Society of Film Critics 2025 Best Director All We Imagine as Light Won [45]
[46]
Best Foreign Language Film Won
New York Film Critics Circle 2024 Best International Film All We Imagine as Light Won [47]
San Diego Asian Film Festival 2017 Best International Short Afternoon Clouds Won [48]
San Sebastián International Film Festival 2024 RTVE-Another Look Award All We Imagine as Light Won [49]
[50]
Taiwan International Documentary Festival 2022 Merit Prize A Night of Knowing Nothing Won [51]
Toronto International Film Festival 2021 Amplify Voices Award Won [52]
[53]
[54]
Yamagata International Documentary Film Festival 2023 Robert and Frances Flaherty Prize Won [55]
[56]

References

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  1. ^ Jump up to: a b Janus Films [@janusfilms] (4 January 2025). "Happy Birthday to the luminous Payal Kapadia! Her Golden-Globe nominated ALL WE IMAGINE AS LIGHT has taken the awards season by storm" (Tweet). Retrieved 5 January 2025 – via Twitter.
  2. ^ "Meet FTII student Payal Kapadia, whose film Afternoon Clouds, was selected for Cannes 2017". Firstpost. 10 June 2017. Archived from the original on 7 May 2024. Retrieved 20 July 2021.
  3. ^ "Payal Kapadia wins best documentary award in Cannes". India Today. 18 July 2021. Archived from the original on 5 May 2024. Retrieved 20 July 2021.
  4. ^ "Cannes 2021: India's Payal Kapadia wins best documentary award". Hindustan Times. 18 July 2021. Archived from the original on 9 October 2023. Retrieved 20 July 2021.
  5. ^ "Mumbai-based film-maker Payal Kapadia wins Best Documentary Award at Cannes". The Economic Times. 19 July 2021. ISSN 0013-0389. Archived from the original on 19 May 2024. Retrieved 13 September 2022.
  6. ^ "The 77th Festival de Cannes winners' list". Festival de Cannes. 25 May 2024. Archived from the original on 28 May 2024. Retrieved 30 October 2024.
  7. ^ Mogul, Rhea (27 May 2024). "India celebrates historic Grand Prix win at the Cannes Film Festival". CNN. Archived from the original on 24 September 2024. Retrieved 30 October 2024.
  8. ^ Jump up to: a b "2025 Golden Globes nominations revealed: See the full list of nominees". Entertainment Weekly. 9 December 2024. Archived from the original on 9 December 2024. Retrieved 9 December 2024.
  9. ^ "An interview with Payal Kapadia about "And What Is the Summer Saying"". Berlinale Shorts (in German). 12 February 2018. Retrieved 26 May 2024.
  10. ^ Geeta Kapur (2000). When Was Modernism: Essays on Contemporary Cultural Practice in India (PDF). Delhi: Tulika. p. 57. ISBN 81-89487-24-8. Archived (PDF) from the original on 22 August 2019. Retrieved 15 December 2024.
  11. ^ Jump up to: a b Dore, Bhavya (7 June 2017). "Payal Kapadia: Over the Clouds". Open: The Magazine. Archived from the original on 17 February 2024. Retrieved 20 July 2021.
  12. ^ "Who Is Payal Kapadia? The Director Wins Best Documentary Award In Cannes". Archived from the original on 20 July 2021. Retrieved 20 July 2021.
  13. ^ "Meet FTII student Payal Kapadia, whose film Afternoon Clouds, was selected for Cannes 2017". Firstpost. 10 June 2017. Archived from the original on 7 May 2024. Retrieved 20 July 2021.
  14. ^ "Payal Kapadia wins best documentary award in Cannes". India Today. 18 July 2021. Archived from the original on 5 May 2024. Retrieved 20 July 2021.
  15. ^ "Cannes 2021: India's Payal Kapadia wins best documentary award". Hindustan Times. 18 July 2021. Archived from the original on 9 October 2023. Retrieved 20 July 2021.
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  18. ^ Mogul, Rhea (27 May 2024). "India celebrates historic Grand Prix win at the Cannes Film Festival". CNN. Retrieved 30 October 2024.
  19. ^ "Limelight: All We Imagine as Light". International Film Festival Rotterdam. Retrieved 7 January 2025.
  20. ^ Slatter, Sean (13 October 2021). "Essie Davis, Leah Purcell nominated for Asia Pacific Screen Awards". IF Magazine. Archived from the original on 16 December 2024. Retrieved 30 October 2024.
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  25. ^ "The actress Mélanie Thierry, President of the Camera d'or Jury". Festival de Cannes. 29 June 2021. Archived from the original on 15 December 2024. Retrieved 30 October 2024.
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  27. ^ 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 Hollywood. Archived from the original on 10 May 2024. Retrieved 9 May 2024.
  28. ^ 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 20 October 2024.
  29. ^ "Prix des Cinémas Art et Essai 2024 : LES GRAINES DU FIGUIER SAUVAGE de Mohammad Rasoulof" [2024 art house cinema awards: SEEDS OF THE WILD FIG TREE by Mohammad Rasoulof]. Association Française des Cinémas d'Art et d'Essai (in French). Archived from the original on 5 June 2024. Retrieved 20 October 2024.
  30. ^ Tallerico, Brian (10 December 2024). ""The Brutalist" Leads Chicago Film Critics Association Nominees". RogerEbert.com. Archived from the original on 11 December 2024. Retrieved 10 December 2024.
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  32. ^ Feinberg, Scott (10 November 2022). "Cinema Eye Honors: 'Fire of Love' and 'The Territory' Score Field-Leading Seven Nominations". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 30 October 2024.
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  34. ^ "DGA Announces Nominees for Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Theatrical Feature Film for 2024". Directors Guild of America. 8 January 2025. Retrieved 8 January 2025.
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  38. ^ "15ª Edição 2021". LEFFEST - Lisboa Film Festival. Archived from the original on 15 December 2024. Retrieved 30 October 2024.
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  53. ^ Mullen, Pat (19 September 2021). "The Rescue Wins TIFF People's Choice Award for Documentary". POV Magazine. Archived from the original on 21 June 2024. Retrieved 30 October 2024.
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  55. ^ "Back up the Mountains: Yamagata 2023". International Documentary Association. 15 November 2023. Archived from the original on 8 August 2024. Retrieved 30 October 2024.
  56. ^ "YIDFF 2023". Yamagata International Documentary Film Festival. Archived from the original on 7 October 2024. Retrieved 30 October 2024.
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