All We Imagine as Light
This year’s Grand Prix winner at Cannes takes us to the metropolis of Mumbai, where the lives of three hardworking nurses are portrayed with tenderness, humour and joie de vivre. All We Imagine as Light is January’s Film Friend of the Month at Vega Scene.
Written and directed by Indian filmmaker Payal Kapadia, All We Imagine as Light was one of the major discoveries in the main competition at last year’s Cannes festival, where Kapadia deservedly received the Jury’s Grand Prix. It is a warm, understated and atmospheric portrayal of the lives of three women in Mumbai. In November, the film received Film fra Sør’s main award, Sølvspeilet, and I agree with the jury’s precise reasoning:
“This year’s Sølvspeilet goes to All We Imagine as Light, written and directed by Payal Kapadia. Like a kind of cinematic love letter to Mumbai, the film portrays a broken system through the lives of three hardworking women, without explicitly pointing out what is not working, but by showing how beautiful life can be despite its challenges. The relationship between the main characters is exceptionally well written, and the performances are simply outstanding and memorable.
The jury is captivated by Kapadia’s poetic storytelling and particularly impressed by her formal choices, not least her brilliant use of music. In All We Imagine as Light, one character describes everyday life in a dark factory, where the hours pass as you dream of stepping out into the light. The use of light, both as a metaphor and as an aesthetic and formal device, makes the film truly unique and places compassion and female solidarity at its heart. This moving, soul-nourishing film is a ray of hope. It makes the world a much better place.”
— Truls Foss, Head of Cinema Programming at Vega Scene, on why the film was chosen as the Film Friend of the Month.
The distributor writes about the film:
The stoic Prabha and the younger, more flighty Anu are roommates and nurses. Both long for love and closeness. The man Prabha was married off to as a young woman moved to Germany shortly after their wedding, and she has barely heard from him since. Anu, meanwhile, is in love with a Muslim boy and is not pleased that her parents intend to marry her off to someone else.
The film has an almost hypnotic quality. Its understated style draws you deep into Mumbai’s nightlife and the intimate conversations between lovers, friends and colleagues.
ALL WE IMAGINE AS LIGHT was named the year’s best film by The New York Times and SIGHT & SOUND. It was named Best International Film of the Year by the New York Film Critics Circle Awards. Winner of the Grand Prix at Cannes Film Festival and of the main award, Sølvspeilet, at Film fra Sør. Nominated for Golden Globe awards for Best International Film and Best Director.
Payal Kapadia (born 1986) is an Indian filmmaker and artist. She has made several short films that have premiered at festivals around the world. She made her feature-film debut with A Night of Knowing Nothing, which premiered at Cannes in 2021. Her second feature, All We Imagine as Light, premiered in the main competition at Cannes in 2024.
