Indian Film 'All We Imagine As Light' Steals the Spotlight with 8-Minute Standing Ovation at Cannes

GUWAHATI: Payal Kapadia’s film “All We Imagine As Light,” the first Indian film to compete at Cannes in 30 years, created a buzz at its world premier at the film festival on Thursday, impressing international audiences.

The film received an enthusiastic eight-minute standing ovation after its debut, which is one of the longest at this year’s film festival.

The film, which puts Payal in the running for the prestigious Palme d’Or, made history at the festival. Deadline reports that Payal is the first female Indian filmmaker to have a movie in the Cannes competition, and the film is the first Indian production in competition in thirty years.

Payal is proud to have made history at the festival, demonstrating that Indian cinema has much more to offer than Bollywood.

Kapadia walked the red carpet at Palais des Festivals with her cast. Kani Kusruti stood out with her watermelon clutch, while Divya Prabha impressed in a copper-colored gown, a sharp contrast to her character in the film.

Hridu Haroon wore a veshti and an embellished kurta. Kapadia and cinematographer Ranabir Das, on the other hand, opted for formal black attire.

Indians films have performed quite impressively on the global festival circuit over the past four decades. Mira Nair’s “Salaam Bombay” won the Camera d’Or at the 1988 Cannes Film Festival. Nair’s 2001 film “Monsoon Wedding” won the Golden Lion at the Venice Film Festival just before the Septembet 11 terrorist attacks.

Director Ritesh Batra’s 2013 film “The Lunchbox” also received acclaim, winning the Grand Golden Rail Award at Cannes.

More recently, director Shuchi Talati’s “Girls Will Be Girls” was awarded the Grand Jury and Audience prizes at the Sundance Film Festival earlier this year.

However, India, the world’s largest film-producing country, has not yet won the Palme d’Or or any other major Cannes award. This year, with Kapadia’s beautifully realized and moving film, India has a good chance of achieving that.

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