Indian filmmaker Payal Kapadia’s critically acclaimed film All We Imagine As Light faced another setback at the BAFTAs 2025, losing in the Best Film Not in the English Language category to Spanish drama Emilia Perez.
This marks the third major loss for the Cannes-winning film this awards season, following snubs at the Golden Globes and Critics Choice Awards earlier this year.
Despite receiving widespread international acclaim, All We Imagine As Light once again fell short against Emilia Perez, a film that has stirred controversy due to past tweets by its lead actor, Karla Sofia Gascon.
Kapadia’s film was nominated alongside I’m Still Here, Kneecap, and The Seed of the Sacred Fig but failed to secure the top honor.
At the Golden Globes, All We Imagine As Light was nominated in two categories - Best Non-English Language Motion Picture and Best Director - but lost to Emilia Perez and The Brutalist, respectively. Similarly, it missed out at the Critics Choice Awards, despite being one of the most well-received films of the year.
Since its premiere at the Cannes Film Festival, where it won the Grand Prix (second-highest honor), the Malayalam-Hindi film has garnered significant praise. It was also named Best International Film by the New York Film Critics Circle and won in the same category at the Gotham Awards. Additionally, it topped Sight & Sound magazine’s list of the 50 best films of the year.
Distributed in the US by Janus Films and Sideshow, All We Imagine As Light had its Indian release in November, backed by Rana Daggubati’s Spirit Media. The film stars Kani Kusruti, Divya Prabha, and Chhaya Kadam, and beautifully captures themes of love and friendship through the lives of three women navigating the chaos of Mumbai - two Malayali nurses, Prabha and Anu, and their friend Parvati.