Oscar watchers know you can’t count on any country’s Oscar selection committee to do the smart thing. India‘s track record is particularly abysmal.
Every year, the Film Federation of India (FFI) assembles a jury of industry insiders to pick the film to best represent India at the Oscars. The country hasn’t had an Oscar nomination since “Lagaan” in 2002. India overlooked such lauded films as “The Lunchbox” and “RRR,” and has now snubbed the first Indian film to play in the Cannes competition in 30 years as well as the first film in the history of India to win Cannes’ second prize, the Grand Prix: Payal Kapadia‘s “All We Imagine as Light” (November 15, Sideshow/Janus Films).
The film, about the lives of two Mali nurses living in Mumbai, even landed on France’s shortlist for the Oscar; France ultimately submitted another Cannes prize-winner, “Emilia Pérez.” India selected instead Kiran Rao’s box-office hit “Laapataa Ladies” (‘Lost Ladies”), which debuted at TIFF in 2023 and is currently available on Netflix. It was backed by Jio Studios, a powerful distributor in India, as well as Aamir Khan, the star of “Lagaan.”
A popular box office hit around the world, “RRR” went on to win the Oscar for Best Original Song. That brings up the question of whether Sideshow/Janus will submit “All We Imagine as Light” in other Oscar categories, as it did with Best Picture contender “Drive My Car.” That film competed for Best International Feature Film in 2023, like last year’s Best Picture nominee “Zone of Interest” (A24), Germany’s entry. “Drive My Car” and “Zone of Interest” won for International.
Box office hit “Anatomy of a Fall” (Neon) did make it to a Best Picture nomination (and won Best Original Screenplay) without being submitted by France. But it will be tough for Payal Kapadia to make it to Best Original Screenplay for such a lyrical, visual movie, much less Best Director in a competitive year. She’s up against Denis Villeneuve (“Dune: Part Two”), Jacques Audiard (“Emilia Pérez”), Sean Baker (“Anora”), Mike Leigh (“Hard Truths”), Edward Berger (“Conclave”), and Brady Corbet (“The Brutalist”), with several other films yet to be sampled. That said, she is the most likely woman director to earn a slot.
“All We Imagine As Light” is one of the best-reviewed films of the year; it currently sits at 93 on Metacritic. It will need help from critics to make it to the Oscars.
