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The 77th annual Cannes Film Festival is off in full swing, with the who’s who of the global film industry making their way to the French Riviera. While the internet has been swarming with criticism about the festival expanding to individuals beyond the film world, namely digital content creators and entrepreneurs, the primary focus still remains on the masters of cinema.
This year, a total of seven Indian films are screening at Cannes; with Payal Kapadia’s All We Imagine As Light becoming the first Indian title to compete in the Palme d’Or — the festival’s top category — in 30 years. Back in 2022, Shaunak Sen’s All That Breathes, which was nominated for an Oscar, had bagged the L'OEil d'Or, the biggest documentary award at Cannes. Here’s a closer look at this year’s list.
Cannes 2024: 7 powerful and moving Indian films that are being screened at the International Film Festival
Payal Kapadia’s All We Imagine As Light is the first Indian film in 30 years to be screened and compete in the Palme d’Or category. While this makes Kapadia the first female Indian director to achieve this feat, it’s far from her first association with Cannes. In 2017, her short film Afternoon Clouds was featured at the festival.
Set in Mumbai, All We Imagine as Light centres its narrative around Pratibha, a nurse whose life is disrupted when she receives an unexpected gift from her estranged husband, and her roommate Anu, who’s struggling to find a space to get intimate with her boyfriend. The two women take a trip to a beach town where they find a space for their desires to come true.
Directed by Bulgarian filmmaker Konstantin Bojanov, this romance-thriller has been selected in the Un Certain Regard category. After being embroiled in the murder of a cop in a Delhi brothel, Renuka escapes and seeks refuge within a north Indian community of sex workers. It’s here that she meets and begins a forbidden liaison with 17-year-old Devika, with both women attempting to outrun their struggles and forge a path to freedom.
Set in North India, this thrilling tale by Sandhya Suri turns the spotlight on Santosh, a recently widowed young woman, who inherits her husband’s job as a police constable. While fitting into the new role is challenging enough, Santosh finds herself in deep waters when she’s tasked with investigating a horrific case involving the sexual assault and murder of a girl from a backward caste. The film will also be screened in the Un Certain Regard category at Cannes.
The brainchild of four students of FTII, one of India’s premier film institutes, Sunflowers Were The Best Ones To Know will be competing in the La Cinef category at Cannes. Directed by Chidanand S Naik, the plot revolves around an elderly woman stealing the village rooster, and unknowingly, leading the community into total chaos. However, things take a ridiculous turn when a mysterious prophecy for the rooster’s return is invoked; one which stands to throw the lady and her family into a whole lot of trouble.
Shyam Benegal’s 1976 classic, which starred Girish Karnad, Naseeruddin Shah, Amrish Puri, and Smita Patil, has been restored for screening at this year’s festival under the Classics section. The storyline follows a young veterinary surgeon named Dr. Rao (Karnad), who, after visiting a village, starts a pioneering milk cooperative movement there to fight for the betterment of its residents.
Selected under the Directors' Fortnight category, this drama-comedy stars Radhika Apte and Panchaayat’s Ashok Pathak as an arranged marriage couple, with the husband watching his wife transform into a ruthless force within the confines of their societally pressured relationship.
Screened by the Association for the Diffusion of Independent Cinema (ACID), In Retreat by Maisam Ali is the first Indian film to feature in this section. The powerful story explores themes of identity and home, as it weaves a tale around a nomad (played by Harish Khanna) who returns to his hometown of Ladakh after many years of wandering and struggles to find a sense of belonging.
