‘All We Imagine as Light’ Director Payal Kapadia Looks Beyond India’s Oscar Snub, Talks Identity Politics With Kore-eda Hirokazu at Tokyo Festival

Indian filmmaker Payal Kapadia remains gracious about her film “All You Imagine as Light” not being selected as India’s Oscar submission, despite strong buzz around the title.

“All We Imagine as Light” was the first Indian film to play in competition at Cannes in 30 years and was shortlisted by France’s Oscar committee. Kapadia became the first Indian woman filmmaker to win the Grand Prix at Cannes and the film is in the process of being one of the most widely distributed Indian indie films of all time.

“I think with this film, we got a lot already, so I’m very satisfied with how the journey of the film has gone, and it’s been really more than I expected at all. So, everything that comes its way is a bonus,” Kapadia said on Tuesday during a conversation with Japanese auteur Kore-eda Hirokazu at the Tokyo International Film Festival‘s TIFF Lounge series of talks between filmmakers.

The discussion, which touched on various aspects of contemporary Indian cinema, saw Kore-eda probe into the complexities of portraying women in Indian society. Kapadia emphasized the multifaceted nature of identity in Indian cinema.

“In India, we have many identities. Within gender there are many other identities as well that play a big, big role, whether it’s caste or religion, class, language, ethnicity, region, access to resources, cultural capital,” Kapadia explained. “In a country where there is a lot of inequality at every level, gender is one part of many different of these inequalities.”

Speaking about his portrayal of geishas in Netflix’s “The Makanai: Cooking for the Maiko House,” Kore-eda said, “I have to keep updating the way I portray women. How to portray them in the modern world was the challenge. I tried to find the best way to portray them. Yes, I am a man. How does a man portray a woman? I am aware there is a line. I am a male film director. From that position what is the best way to portray a woman?”

“All We Imagine as Light” centers on two women from Kerala, southern India, living in Mumbai – a premise that emerged from her research with nurses in the city. The film embraces India’s linguistic diversity, featuring dialogue in Malayalam, Hindi, and Marathi, along with documentary voices in Bhojpuri, Gujarati and Tamil.

“Mumbai is a city where you will hear a lot of languages,” Kapadia said. “It’s very much part of our culture that we don’t speak each other’s language, and then we all have to speak another language to be able to understand each other.”

The filmmaker noted the dual nature of language barriers in urban settings, describing how they can both create distance and provide intimate spaces for private conversations in public places.

Kapadia, who attended the Film and Television Institute of India, also discussed the challenges facing independent filmmakers in the country, noting the lack of systemic support after film school. Her own projects have relied on international co-productions, including French funding.

During the conversation, Kore-eda revealed that “All We Imagine as Light” will release in Japan in July 2025. The filmmaker was on the Cannes competition jury that recognized “All We Imagine as Light.”