By Hathim Ashir
Hyderabad: The 77th Cannes Film Festival came to an end on May 25 and cinephiles from India this year were a tad bit more excited. This year was important for the country as it shined in the festival by bagging three awards in three different categories. India was under the spotlight for all the good reasons.
Payal Kapadia’s ‘All We Imagine as Light’ won the prestigious Grand Prix award, the second most esteemed award at the Cannes festival. Anasuya Sengupta won the Best Actress award for her acclaimed performance in the film ‘The Shameless’. ‘Sunflowers Were the First Ones to Know’, directed by Chidananda S Naik, bagged the La Cinef first prize.
‘All We Imagine as Light’ created history by winning the Grand Prix award, the most esteemed award at Cannes after the Palme d’Or. It is the first film to compete in the main competition in 30 years and Payal Kapadia is the first ever Indian filmmaker to win the award. It is also the first feature directorial debut of the director.
Kapadia is an Alumna of the Film and Television Institute of India, Pune (FTII), and had faced disciplinary action in 2015 after she protested the appointment of actor Gajendra Chauhan as its director. Her win was a significant response to the institution in ways, and also sweet revenge. ‘All We Imagine as Light’ received an eight-minute-long standing ovation after its screening, which was the lengthiest at the whole event.
Reviewers compared Kapadia’s work with Satyajit Ray and some critics describing it as a “portrait of urban connection”.
“Thank you, Cannes Film Festival for having our film here. Please don’t wait 30 years to have another Indian film,” Kapadia said in her speech. Previously, Kapadia’s ‘Night of Knowing Nothing’, a documentary on the protests that happened at the FTII Pune, won the Oeil d’or award at Cannes. In 2021 and her short film was selected for Cannes under the category Cinefondation in 2017.
Anasuya Sengupta’s acting as the lead in ‘The Shameless’, directed by Bulgarian director Konstantin Bojanov, won the Best Actress award in the Un Certain Regard section. The plot of the movie revolves around the bond between two sex workers where one of them escapes from prison. Sengupta dedicated her award to the queer and marginalized communities.
The short film “Sunflowers Were the First Ones to Know…” based on a Kannada comic, features a village where an old lady steels a rooster and the sun stops to rise. This was also made by an FTII alumni film.
The renowned cinematographer Santosh Sivan was awarded the Pierre Angénieux award for his exceptional career and contributions to the film industry. He pioneered as the cinematographer in many South Indian movies and other movies.
Shyam Bengal’s 1976 film ‘Manthan’s restored version too was screened at Cannes under Cannes Classics.
