Payal Kapadia’s All We Imagine As Light will not represent either India or France at the 97th Academy Awards. The film, which won the Grand Prix Award at Cannes 2024, was in France’s shortlist with movies like Jacques Audiard’s Emilia Perez, which won two awards at Cannes. The other films were The Count of Monte Cristo, a film adapted from Alexandre Dumas’ classic of the same name, and Alain Guiraudie’s Misericordia. Eventually, the French committee decided to send Emilia Perez to the Oscars.
Pa Ranjith’s Thangalaan, Mari Selvaraj’s Vaazhai, Christo Tomy’s Ullozhukku, Tushar Hiranandani’s Srikanth and Kiran Rao’s Laapataa Ladies were the films shortlisted by India. Laapataa Ladies was eventually selected as India’s official entry to the 94th Academy Awards.
Stating that it was a collective decision by the jury, Film Federation of India (FFI) President Ravi Kottakara said All We Imagine As Light did not feel like an Indian film. “The jury was convinced that Lapaataa Ladies represented the plight of Indian women. The plot, which revolves around swapping brides due to their ghoonghat in a train, is something that happens only in India,” he added.
All We Imagine as Light was a co-production venture by France, India, Luxembourg, Netherlands, and Italy. According to reports, Luxembourg has decided not to send a film to the Oscars. Italy has sent Maura Delpero's World War 2 drama Vermiglio and Netherlands has sent Jelle de Jonge’s Memory Lane, which was a commercial hit. The only way All We Imagine As Light can compete in the Oscars now is by registering it as an independent entry.
All We Imagine As Light producers had hoped it would represent India. “While the film’s themes are global, this is a story about Mumbai and the lives of women in that city. It would be a great honour to represent our home country, India, at the Academy Awards. We think it could be a source of great joy for India in the way we felt it was after the film won the Grand Prix at Cannes,” the film’s co-producer Zico Maitra had told Variety.
According to the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, the country that submits a film must be able to prove that creative control of the film was largely in the hands of citizens or residents of that country. It should also be released before a deadline to qualify for the awards. Spirit Media, the production house owned by actor Rana Daggubati, had acquired the rights to release the film in India. All We Imagine As Light got a limited theatrical release in Kerala on September 21 in order to meet the criteria.
