New Delhi: “All We Imagine As Light” director Payal Kapadia has been appointed the president of the jury for the 65th edition of Cannes Critics Week, a parallel section of the Cannes Film Festival that showcases and supports emerging voices in cinema.
Kapadia, who made history in 2024 as the first Indian filmmaker to win the Grand Prix at the Cannes Film Festival, will lead an international jury that includes Québécois actor Théodore Pellerin, singer-songwriter Oklou, Ghanaian-British producer Ama Ampadu, and journalist and director of the Bangkok World Film Festival, Donsaron Kovitvanitcha.
The Critics Week section, known as “Semaine de la Critique,” is organised by the French Syndicate of Cinema Critics. The 65th edition will run from May 13 to May 21 alongside the main Cannes Film Festival, scheduled from May 12 to May 23.
In a statement, Kapadia highlighted the importance of supporting debut filmmakers, calling it “almost a resistance to market forces” at a time when independent cinema is increasingly under pressure.
She said film criticism plays a vital role in sustaining the independent and art-house ecosystem, adding that first films are often “freer, more daring and fearless,” and represent strong individual voices that deserve support and nurturing.
Kapadia, an alumna of the Film and Television Institute of India, Pune, has an acclaimed body of work. Her short films Afternoon Clouds and And What is the Summer Saying were screened at Cinefondation and the Berlinale.
Her debut feature documentary, A Night of Knowing Nothing, was selected at Directors’ Fortnight at Cannes in 2021 and won the L’Oeil d’Or for Best Documentary.
Her feature film All We Imagine As Light, which explores the lives of two working women in Mumbai, earned her global recognition and cemented her position as one of the most promising filmmakers internationally.
As jury president, Kapadia will present the La Semaine de la Critique Ami Paris Grand Prize for best feature film, the Louis Roederer Foundation Rising Star Award for best actor or actress, and the Sony Discovery Prize for best short film.
With PTI inputs