Payal Kapadia: ‘All We Imagine as Light’ director makes history with Golden Globes nomination

Kapadia’s film All We Imagine As Light was not chosen by India for Academy Awards despite winning international accolades

Payal Kapadia made history as the first Indian woman director from the world's most populous nation to secure a Golden Globe nomination for her trailblazing film All We Imagine As Light.

Kapadia, 38, has been on a hot streak with her first full-length feature film since winning the Grand Prix at the Cannes Film Festival in May.

The film secured two nominations at the 82nd Golden Globes this year in the Best Director category and the Best Motion Picture in a Non-English Language.

The Hindi-Malayalam language film tenderly weaves the stories of three subaltern women through hardship, loneliness and empathy in the metropolis of Mumbai – a city where millions of aspirations get trampled under the weight of reality.

In her five-star review for The Independent, Clarisse Loughrey wrote: "All We Imagine as Light is a portrait not only of a place, and all the social and political forces that drive it, but of the intensity of feeling it coughs up."

Kani Kusruti, left, and Divya Prabha in a scene from ‘All We Imagine As Light’ ((Janus and Sideshow Films via AP))

Kapadia in a statement said she was "deeply honored by this nomination and grateful to the HFPA [Hollywood Foreign Press Association] for this recognition. This is a celebration of everyone who worked so passionately on the film."

All We Imagine as Light was released in theatres in India on 22 November. Kapadia on Tuesday announced the film will be re-released at selected theatres this Friday.

She will compete in the Best Director category alongside Jacques Audiard for Emilia Pérez, Sean Baker, Anora, Edward Berger for Conclave, Brady Corbet for The Brutalist and Coralie Fargeat for The Substance.

Kapadia’s film also bagged the Best International Film at the New York Film Critics Circle and Gotham Awards and brought home the award for Best International Feature.

(L-R) Saoirse Ronan, Payal Kapadia, Thomas Hakim and Guy Pearce attend the Gothams 34th Annual Film Awards (Getty Images for The Gotham Film)

Despite being univocally loved by critics and viewers as one of the most acclaimed films of the year, it was snubbed by India for its submission for the best international film at the Academy Awards.

Ravi Kottarakara, president of the Film Federation of India, sent Kiran Rao’s Laapataa Ladies for the awards, explaining that the selection committee felt “that they were watching a European film taking place in India, not an Indian film taking place in India".

Kapadia told the Associated Press that she was "really happy with the film they chose. It’s a really nice film. I liked it a lot. But I feel like these kind of statements, I don’t know what purpose they serve".

"The committee that made the selection was 13 men. Is that very Indian? Then I don’t mind so much."

This year’s Golden Globes ceremony comes three years after its 2022 ceremony was boycotted following a 2021 exposé by the Los Angeles Times, accusing its voting body, the Hollywood Foreign Press Association (HFPA), of a lack of diversity.

The organisation has since reformed, expelling problematic voters and expanding its membership from around 85 to 300, including 10 per cent Black representation.

The 82nd Golden Globes will be held at The Beverly Hilton Hotel in Los Angeles on Sunday, 5 January, beginning at 5pm (local time)/8 pm ET.