Golden Globes Awards 2025: Payal Kapadia misses Best Director win but shines with historic nomination for All We Imagine As Light

Payal was just the second Indian director to be nominated at the Golden Globes after Shekhar Kapur, who made the cut for the English film, Elizabeth. So effectively, Payal is the first Indian filmmaker to be nominated for the big prize for an Indian (Malayalam) film. Of course, Danny Boyle won it for Slumdog Millionaire in 2008, and AR Rahman brought home the Golden Globe award for Best Original score. However, it was for an English film based in India, and not an Indian film.

ALSO READ: All We Imagine As Light movie review: Payal Kapadia’s lyrical ode to working-class Mumbai and female friendship

All We Imagine As Light won the Grand Prix award at Cannes Film Festival, and went on to win accolades all over the world, including Chicago International Film Festival, Gotham Awards, various Film Critics associations (Los Angeles, San Diego, Chicago, Toronto, New York, Dublin, Philadelphia), and Asia Pacific Screen Awards.

Despite the overwhelming success of All We Imagine As Light in the awards circuit, the Film Federation of India didn’t submit Payal’s film for the Oscars in the Best International Film category. They opted for Kiran Rao’s Laapataa Ladies, which missed making the final shortlist cut.

An international co-production between companies from France, India, Netherlands, Luxembourg, and Italy, All We Imagine As Light is headlined by Kani Kusruti and Divya Prabha. Other prominent actors in the film are Chhaya Kadam, Anand Sami, and Hridhu Haroon. With cinematography by Ranabir Das and editing by Clement Pinteau, All We Imagine As Light has music by Topshe, Emahoy Tsegue-Maryam, and Guebrou.