Montclair Film Festival Announces 2024 Winners: ‘All We Imagine as Light’ Takes Top Prize

And the 2024 Montclair Film Festival awards go to…

The Montclair Film Festival bestowed its top honor, the Fiction Feature Prize, to Payal Kapadia’s critically acclaimed “All We Imagine as Light.” The feature won the Grand Prix at Cannes but was later snubbed by India for its Oscar submission. The film centers on two nurses, played by Kani Kusruti and Divya Prabha, who grapple with their own relationships. “All We Imagine as Light” will premiere November 15 in theaters from Sideshow/Janus Films.

Montclair Film additionally recognized Mohammad Rasoulof’s “The Seed of the Sacred Fig” with a Special Jury Prize. The Feature Film jury included artist and podcaster Janette Afsharian, AP critic Jake Coyle, and Rolling Stone critic David Fear.

The festival’s Bruce Sinofsky Award for the Documentary Feature Competition was won by “Soundtrack to a Coup d’Etat,” which was directed by Johan Grimonprez. A Special Jury Prize was also awarded to Petra Costa for “Apocalypse in the Tropics.”

“We award ‘Soundtrack to a Coup d’Etat’ for its compelling illumination of the merging of politics and culture on a global scale, and a Special Jury Prize is awarded to Petra Costa for ‘Apocalypse in the Tropics’ for its unflinching look at religion and politics in 21st century democracies, and the dangers to both, told with urgency and intelligence,” a jury statement reads.

The jury was composed of filmmaker Jon Sesrie Goff, EW Editorial Director Dalton Ross, and 710AM-WOR Radio critic Joe Neumaier.

The Future/Now Competition was won by “Extremely Unique Dynamic,” which was directed by Ivan Leung, Harrison Xu, and Katherine Dudas. The prize includes $5,000 as part of the Mark Urman Award for Fiction Filmmaking, which was established in 2019 in memory of the film distribution executive Mark Urman, a longtime Montclair resident. The award is funded through Montclair Film’s Mark Urman Award Fund. 

The festival audience award for Fiction Feature was won by Malcolm Washington’s “The Piano Lesson,” with “Zurawski v. Texas” winning the audience award for Documentary Feature. Maisie Crow and Abbie Perrault’s “Zurawski v. Texas” was also recognized with the New Jersey Films win.

“This year’s award winners are a reflection of the powerful ways in which cinema can bring the world together,” Montclair Film Artistic Director and Co-Head Tom Hall said. “We are incredibly honored to be able to share the work of these brilliant artists and we congratulate them, and all of our filmmakers, for their outstanding work.”

Check out the full list of award winners below.

Jury Awards

Feature Film – “All We Imagine as Light”

Documentary Feature – “Soundtrack to a Coup d’Etat”

The Mark Urman Award For Fiction Filmmaking – “Extremely Unique Dynamic”

New Jersey Films Competition – “Zurawski v. Texas”

Audience Awards

Fiction Feature – “The Piano Lesson”

Documentary Feature – “Zurawski v. Texas”

World Cinema – “Young Hearts” Short Film – “Anuja”