Filmmaker Payal Kapadia’s All We Imagine as Light has won Best International Feature at the New York Film Critics Circle (NYFCC), as reported by the US-based portal Deadline. The same report also shared that the Best Animated Feature award was presented to Gints Zilbalodis’ Flow.
This year marks the 90th anniversary of the NYFCC, with notable members including Indiewire’s David Ehrlich (2024 vice chair) and Kate Erbland, New York Magazine’s Alison Wilmore and Bilge Ebiri, The Atlantic’s David Sims (2024 chair), and Time’s Stephanie Zacharek.
Earlier this week, All We Imagine as Light also won Best International Feature at the Gotham Awards 2024. Other nominees in the category included Green Border, Hard Truths, Inside the Yellow Cocoon Shell, and Vermiglio. The Gotham Film Awards took place at Cipriani Wall Street in New York on Monday.
Starring Kani Kusruti, Divya Prabha, and Chhaya Kadam, the film is an official Indo-French co-production between France’s petit chaos, and India’s Chalk & Cheese and Another Birth.
Bold Scenes Controversy
All We Imagine as Light is a critically acclaimed film directed by Payal Kapadia, which has garnered attention for its bold portrayal of intimacy, identity, and societal issues. The film features a prominent semi-nude scene involving actress Divya Prabha, which has sparked mixed reactions.
Some viewers have criticized these intimate scenes, viewing them as unnecessary or inappropriate, especially in the Indian context, while others have highlighted the deeper themes of the film and its significance in international cinema
Divya Prabha, the lead actress, defended the scenes, emphasizing that they were integral to the story and were filmed with professional care and consent, including the presence of an intimacy coordinator. She pointed out that these scenes were never intended to gratify the audience, but to support the narrative
