Cannes Critics’ Week Jury Announced: Payal Kapadia Named President
According to the CinemaDrame News Agency, Indian filmmaker Payal Kapadia has been appointed as the president of the jury for the 65th edition of the Cannes Critics’ Week.
She will be joined on the jury by Théodore Pellerin (Quebec actor), Oklou (singer-songwriter), Ama Ampadu (Ghanaian-British producer), and Donsaron Kovitvanitcha (journalist and director of the Bangkok World Film Festival).
Kapadia rose to international prominence with her second feature film, All We Imagine as Light, which was selected for the main competition at the 2024 Cannes Film Festival and won the Grand Prix.
Born in 1986 in Mumbai, Kapadia studied film direction at the Film and Television Institute of India. Her short films, Afternoon Clouds and And What Is the Summer Saying, were selected for Cannes’ Cinéfondation and the Berlinale.
Her debut feature documentary, A Night of Knowing Nothing, was selected for the Directors’ Fortnight section in 2021 and won the L’Oeil d’Or (Golden Eye) award for Best Documentary.
Speaking about her appointment, Kapadia said: “My journey as a filmmaker began with the support I received through film festival selections. Through them, I had the opportunity to meet like-minded people from around the world, which helped me build a community of future collaborators.”
She added: “At a time when independent cinema is declining in every country, supporting debut filmmakers is almost an act of resistance against market forces. Film criticism is a key component of the independent and art-house cinema ecosystem. First films are often freer, bolder, and more daring, with unique voices; supporting them is essential. First films are also fragile, and nurturing them in a section like Critics’ Week helps them flourish alongside works by established filmmakers.”
Kapadia and her jury will select the winners of the La Semaine de la Critique Ami Paris Grand Prize for Best Feature Film, the Louis Roederer Foundation Rising Star Award for Best Actor or Actress, and the Sony Discovery Prize for Best Short Film.
