Payal Kapadia, Indian director Everything we imagine is like light He won the Grand Prix at the 2024 Cannes Film Festival and will serve as president of the jury for the 65th Cannes Critics’ Week, which will take place from May 13 to 21 in conjunction with the main festival.
Joining Kapadia on the judging panel will be Canadian actor Théodore Pellerin (Lurking), French singer-songwriter Oklo, Ghanaian-British producer Ama Ampadu (My father’s shadow) and journalist and director of the Bangkok World Film Festival Donsaron Kovitvanica.
Kapadia short films Afternoon clouds and What is the saying of summer? She was selected for the Cinéfondation and the Berlinale, before her first feature documentary Night knows nothing It went to Cannes in 2021, winning the L’Oeil d’Or for Best Documentary Feature.
Everything we imagine is like lightHer second feature film was a highlight at the 2024 Cannes Film Festival and marked her arrival as one of the most exciting voices in contemporary world cinema.
“My journey as a filmmaker was supported early on by film festival selections,” Kapadia said in a statement. “Through this, I had the opportunity to meet other people like me from all over the world and they helped me build a community of future collaborators.”
Kapadia said she accepted the jury role at a time when “independent cinema is eroding in every country,” adding that support for debut films “is almost a resistance to market forces.” Noting the raison d’être of Critics’ Week at Cannes, she described film criticism as “one of the key components of the independent and arthouse film ecosystem. First films are often freer, bolder and braver, and having an individual voice and supporting that is absolutely essential. First films are also fragile, and nurturing them in a section like Critics’ Week helps them flourish among the works of already established filmmakers.”
The Critics’ Week jury will award the Ami Paris Grand Prix for Best Feature Film, the Rising Star Award from the Louis Roederer Foundation for Best Actor or Actress, and the Sony Discovery Award for Best Short Film.
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