Payal Kapadia created history at the 82nd Golden Globe Awards. For his first fiction feature, All We Imagine as Light, he received a nomination in the Best Director-Motion Picture category. The director reacted to the nomination and expressed his gratitude to the Hollywood Foreign Press Association for the recognition. (Also Read: Complete list of Golden Globe Awards 2025 nominations: Emilia Perez sets record with 10 nods; All We Imagine as Light gets 2)
Payal Kapadia’s statement
In a statement, Payal said: “I am deeply honored by this nomination and grateful to the HFPA for this recognition. This is a celebration of everyone who worked so diligently on the film. Thank you to everyone in India. , All We Imagine Is As Light.” Still in theaters—please go see it and support us!” All We Imagine as Light is released in theaters on November 22.
Pauly is nominated in this category along with Jacques Audiard for Emilia Perez, Sean Baker for Enora, Edward Berger for Conclave, Brady Corbett for The Brutalist and Coralie Farguet for The Substance.
All We Imagine as Light also received a nomination in the Best Motion Picture in a Non-English Language category. Other nominees were Emilia Pérez, The Girl with the Needle, I’m Still Here, The Seed of the Sacred Fig and Vermiglio.
fan reactions
Reacting to the nomination, Anil Kapoor tweeted, “All We Imagine as Light earns 2 Golden Globe nominations – Best Direction & Best Foreign Film! What a great recognition of Indian cinema & the storytelling ability of @PayalKapadia86 Very proud!”
Many noted the film’s awards season rule despite not being selected as India’s official entry. One comment said, “It’s really heartening to see what ‘All We Imagine as Light’ is achieving at every award without being nominated by India or France.” One fan said, “Payal Kapadia to win!” “History has been made! India is very proud!” another fan said.
The Malayalam-Hindi film centers on Prabha (Kani Kusruti), a Mumbai-based nurse whose life is thrown into disarray when she inherits a rice cooking pot from her estranged husband. Divya Prabha plays Anu, her roommate and co-worker, who is struggling to find a private place in the city to spend time with her lover. Prabha’s best friend Parvati (Chhaya Kadam), a widow, is being thrown out of her house by property developers.
It is an official Indo-French co-production between France’s Petit Chaos and Choc & Cheese and Another Birth from India. The film won the Grand Prix at the Cannes Film Festival in May.
