The Cannes Film Festival is all set to host its 74th edition from 14 to 25 May, and this year, India is making a comeback to the competition section after 30 years. A joint India-France production feature film by writer-director Payal Kapadia, titled "All We Imagine As Light," has been selected to compete for the top Palme d’Or award. It is the first Indian film to be chosen for the coveted section since Kerala director Shaji N Karun's "Swaham" in 1994.
Kapadia's debut work is a story about two nurses from Kerala, Prabha and Anu, who work at a nursing home in Mumbai. Their journey to a coastal town prompts them to break away from the confines of their lives. The film will compete with the latest works by some of the biggest names in world cinema, including Francis Ford Coppola, Sean Baker, and Yórgos Lánthimos.
In 2021, Kapadia's "A Night of Not Knowing Nothing" won the Golden Eye Award for Best Documentary playing in the Director's Fortnight. In 2017, her film "Afternoon Clouds" was part of the Cinefondation section, which also takes place during the Festival along with the Critics' Week and Director's Fortnight.
The Cannes Film Festival is one of the most prestigious film festivals in the world, and Indian cinema has had a long history with it. In the 1983 Cannes Film Festival, director Mrinal Sen's Bengali film "Kharij" won the Special Jury Prize. Prior to that, films like MS Sathyu's "Garm Hawa" (1974), Satyajit Ray's "Parash Pathar" (1958), Raj Kapoor's "Awaara" (1953), V Shantaram's "Amar Bhoopali" (1952), and Chetan Anand's "Neecha Nagar" (1946) were chosen to participate in the competition segment at Cannes.
Kapadia's selection for the competition section is a significant achievement for Indian cinema, and it is hoped that it will pave the way for more Indian films to be selected in the future.
