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One of the final few main Competition titles to premiere at the 77th Cannes Film Festival, Payal Kapadia's "All We Imagine as Light" has instantly emerged as a frontrunner for the Palme d'Or. No Indian female director has ever competed for Cannes' top prize nor has any filmmaker from the country bagged the coveted award. Universally applauded by critics at the festival due to end later today, the spellbinding, magnificently crafted drama about three women finding their way into and out of Mumbai, a city with which they have very tenuous relationships, has put India on the threshold of history. Kapadia, flanked by her four principal actors, Kani Kusruti, Divya Prabha, Hridhu Haroon and Chhaya Kadam, cinematographer Ranabir Das and producers Thomas Hakim of Petit Chaos and Zico Maitra of Chalk and Cheese, addressed critics at the festival's press conference hall on Friday morning. Critics have heaped unstinted press on the film. BBC described "All We Imagine as Light" as universal an
The India Pavilion, rechristened the Bharat Pavilion, was formally opened on Wednesday morning at the 77th Cannes Film Festival. Explaining the rationale behind the renaming, Mr. Sanjay Jaju, secretary, ministry of information and broadcasting, said: "It symbolises the country's assertion of its traditional storytelling practices while it actively looks for collaborations with the rest of the world." "India," Mr. Jaju said, "is the sutradhar (narrator) of the world." The large Indian presence in the festival is a recognition of that status, the secretary added. The astounding variety of films that India produces and the growing importance of the Diaspora combine to bolster the reach and impact of the nation's "soft touch", Mr Jaju said, adding that he would refrain from using the word "power" in the context of Indian cinema. "We are happy that India is back in the Cannes Competition with a film by a gifted young filmmaker," he said. "This festival is a platform for networking and .
The Cannes Film Festival, cancelled altogether last year by the pandemic, is postponing this year's edition from May to July in hopes of having an in-person festival. Cannes organisers announced Wednesday that this year's festival will now take place July 6-17, about two months after its typical period. The French Riviera festival, which had run for nearly 75 years with few interruptions, is currently hoping the coronavirus recedes enough by summertime. Cannes last year first looked at a postponement its 73rd festival to June or July before ultimately cancelling altogether. The festival still went ahead with a selection announcement to celebrate the films it had planned to include in its prestigious lineup. This year, organisers are intent on having a festival, one way or another. No details were announced Wednesday on what shape a 2021 edition might take.
The curtains will fall on the 63rd edition of the Cannes Advertising Festival on Saturday. But chances are the Indian contingent could be smiling well after this chapter draws to a close. The reason for this is the clutch of spots on shortlists that Indian agencies have managed to bag before the final set of awards are declared on Saturday.