From the 21st of September 2024, Payal Kapadia’s All We Imagine As Light will be available in a few selected theatres in Kerala. This marks the film’s Indian theatrical debuts. Earlier in the – year, the film created history along the 77th Cannes Film Festival by becoming the first Indian movie to bag the Grand Prix award. A company owned by Rana Daggubati, Spirit Media, holds the distribution rights of the film in India. The Indian producers for the film Zico Maitra, Chalk and Cheese Films and ranabir Das, Another Birth are Mumbai based and have been on the journey with Kapadia for the last five years to make this film happen.
Next week, the film Prabahaya ninachathilam will have limited screen-time in its first Indian language territory, kerala. Thereafter, it shall be released all over the major towns in India. The kerala release will be the first important landmark in india’s distribution and exhibition network. All Departments of the film are already developed in production design with the replacement of the malayalam title prabhayay ninachathellam with a concluded production status.
Talking about the Indian release of the movie, Payal Kapadia added, “The film puts its core on these two women who come from the state of Kerala to work and pursue their ambitions in the city of Mumbai. For this reason, it is only apt that the first state to release the film in a theatre is therefore Kerala. I am also pretty happy about the fact that the film will be seen in many more territories of India as our release moves on.”
Rana Daggubati, one of the partners of Spirit Media, the company that acquired the distribution rights for the film in India, stated, “We are happy to inform that we will be able to release this wonderful film in India starting from kerala where the main two protagonists of the story are from. The Indian film industry has a long history behind it that is filled with beautiful storytelling and this motion picture depicts the Indian culture through the perspectives of various characters speaking different dialects hailing from various parts of the country but having aspirations to live in the fast-paced city of Mumbai.”
This in over 30 years, is the first Indian film to take part in the Main Competition of the Cannes Film Festival and this achievement advanced Payal making her the very first Indian woman filmmaker to ever participate in this competition.
All We Imagine as Light was also in the category of 22 films that wished to be adorned with the most coveted Palme d’Or Award alongside contemporary great filmmakers such as Andrea Arnold, Francis Ford Coppola, Jia Zhang-Ke, Paolo Sorrentino, Sean Baker, Ali Abbasi and others. The film was featured at the Cannes Film Festival and has gone on to be included in Several festivals including Telluride Film Festival, Toronto International Film Festival, New York Film Festival, and San Sebastian Film Festival. There is consensus among Oscar Pundits that the film is in line for nomination in the International Film category at the Academy Awards.
All We Imagine as Light is a Malayalam-Hindi feature film starring Kani Kusruti, Divya Prabha, Chhaya Kadam, Hridhu Haroon, and Azees Nedumangad, where nurse Prabha’s monotonous life changes after she receives a surprise present from her separated spouse. Her child flatmate Anu desperately seeks a place in the congestion of the city to make love with her lover. A visit to the sea town helps them to give vent to their urges.
The film is an official Indo-French co-production between British Raj Films Entertainment Private Limited (Chalk) and La Petite Ou Linerle Film Gent (Cheese Films) all based in India.
