‘All We Imagine As Light’ bags another award in New York. It lacked good marketing for Oscar

A few critics like Ashameera Aiyappan are holding out for All We Imagine As Light to get an Ocsar nomination on its own steam, based on the film’s growing traction in the US market.

Chhaya Kadam, Payal Kapadia, Divya Prabha and Kani Kusruti (left to right) with the Grand Prix. | X @narendramodi

New Delhi: Payal Kapadia’s All We Imagine As Light may have lost out to Kiran Rao’s Laapataa Ladies as India’s official Oscar entry, but the film continues to shine on the international stage, collecting award after award.

It won the Best International at the New York Film Critics Circle on 3 December, a day after its triumph at the Gotham Awards. This, after it took home the Grand Prix award at the Cannes Film Festival in May. All We Imagine As Light was also the first film from India to make it to the European gala’s main competition in 30 years.

All this has left viewers and critics wondering how it lost out to Laapataa Ladies. Film critics put it down to a weak marketing campaign.

“It’s not really about ‘losing out’. It would have been great if All We Want Is Light was officially tapped by India for Oscars. Sure, the jury’s citation was a tad bizarre. But I’m just glad that another women-centric story that was helmed by a female filmmaker got the nod,” said film critic Ashameera Aiyappan, while clarifying that both films, helmed by remarkable directors, tell compelling stories of women. 

“Oscars are about strategic campaigning—making the right people watch your film—something Rao can achieve,” said Aiyappan. 

Unlike Laapataa Ladies, whose presence on Netflix helped it reach a broad audience, All We Imagine As Light had a smaller theatrical release in Kerala on September 21, followed by a nationwide rollout on November 22. And so far, filmmaker Hansal Mehta claimed, no OTT platform has bought its digital rights. 

“The film flew under the radar during its release. International recognition came first, and only then did it garner attention,” said film critic and trade analyst Rohit Jaiswal.

Growing traction

All We Imagine As Light clinched the Gotham Awards’ Best International Feature trophy, triumphing over nominees like Green Border and Inside the Yellow Cocoon Shell. 

“It’s our first fiction narrative feature film, so it is super nice to get this,” Kapadia said while accepting the award.

A few critics like Aiyappan are holding out for the movie to get an Ocsar nomination on its own steam, based on the film’s growing traction in the US market. 

“There’s a chance it might secure nominations for Best Picture or Best Director,” the director said.

The Malayalam-Hindi movie tells the story of two young women, Prabha (Kani Kusruti), a nurse from Mumbai, and Anu (Divya Prabhu), her roommate. An ode to sisterhood, it was shot for over 25 days in Mumbai, followed by another 15 in Ratnagiri.

“Kapadia is a unique director and has a unique voice which the Indian filmmaking landscape hasn’t seen. She deserves an Oscar win,” added Aiyappan. 

(Edited by Aamaan Alam Khan)