Payal Kapadia (filmmaker)

Indian filmmaker From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

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]

Quick Facts Born, Nationality ...
Payal Kapadia
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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
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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

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

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

More information Year, Title ...
– 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
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Accolades

More information Award, Year ...
Award Year Category Work Result Ref.
Asian Film Awards 2025 Best Director All We Imagine as Light Pending [20]
Best Screenplay Pending
Asia Pacific Screen Awards 2021 Best Film A Night of Knowing Nothing Nominated [21]
2024 All We Imagine as Light Nominated [22]
Best Director Nominated
Best Screenplay Nominated
British Academy Film Awards 2025 Best Film Not in the English Language All We Imagine as Light Pending [23]
British Independent Film Awards 2024 Best International Independent Film All We Imagine as Light Nominated [24]
Cahiers du Cinéma 2024 Annual Top 10 All We Imagine as Light 5th Place [25]
Camden International Film Festival 2021 Cinematic Vision Award A Night of Knowing Nothing Won [26]
Cannes Film Festival 2021 Caméra d'Or A Night of Knowing Nothing Nominated [27]
L'Œil d'or Won [28]
2024 Palme d'Or All We Imagine as Light Nominated [29]
Grand Prix Won [30]
Prix des Cinémas Art et Essai – Special Mention Won [31]
Chicago Film Critics Association 2024 Milos Stehlik Award for Breakthrough Filmmaker All We Imagine as Light Nominated [32]
Chicago International Film Festival 2024 Silver Hugo – Jury Prize All We Imagine as Light Won [33]
Cinema Eye Honors 2023 Outstanding Nonfiction Feature A Night of Knowing Nothing Nominated [34]
[35]
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 Nominated [36]
Fribourg International Film Festival 2019 Best International Short Film Award And What Is the Summer Saying? Won [37]
Golden Globe Awards 2025 Best Director – Motion Picture All We Imagine as Light Nominated [38]
Gotham Awards 2024 Best Director All We Imagine as Light Nominated [39]
Best International Feature Won
Lisbon & Estoril Film Festival 2021 Best Film Award A Night of Knowing Nothing Won [40]
Mill Valley Film Festival 2024 Mind the Gap Award Honored [41]
[42]
Mirage Film Festival 2022 MIRAGE Award – Directing A Night of Knowing Nothing Won [43]
[44]
Montclair Film Festival 2024 Fiction Feature Prize All We Imagine as Light Won [45]
[46]
National Society of Film Critics 2025 Best Director All We Imagine as Light Won [47]
[48]
Best Foreign Language Film Won
New York Film Critics Circle 2024 Best International Film All We Imagine as Light Won [49]
San Diego Asian Film Festival 2017 Best International Short Afternoon Clouds Won [50]
San Sebastián International Film Festival 2024 RTVE-Another Look Award All We Imagine as Light Won [51]
[52]
Taiwan International Documentary Festival 2022 Merit Prize A Night of Knowing Nothing Won [53]
Toronto International Film Festival 2021 Amplify Voices Award Won [54]
[55]
[56]
Yamagata International Documentary Film Festival 2023 Robert and Frances Flaherty Prize Won [57]
[58]
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References

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