Cannes 2024: A record 6 nominations
For 76 years, the Palm d’Or at Cannes has stood for the pinnacle of global cinematic achievement. And in all those years, Indian-made movies have been featured less than 40 times. But this year Indian artists are firmly planting their foot in the door and proving to be a force to be recognized with a record six nominations. Besides Indian and Indian-origin filmmakers making a splash in competitive and non-competitive categories, award-winning cinematographer, Santosh Sivan, of Dil Se and Iruvar fame, will be the first Indian to be awarded at the the Pierre Angénieux ceremony, a Cannes Festival partner, for career achievement in cinematography.
Also, Shyam Benegal’s Manthan is the only Indian film this year to be honored by a screening in the Classics section.
More than the usual song-and-dance
Every year, India produces the largest number of movies in the world with an annual average output of 2,500 productions since 2019. The movies range from commercial slap-stick comedies to neo-realistic art films, covering several languages, and diving into the depths of the Indian psyche.
To the Western world, barring the rare occasion of a Satyajit Ray, the perception of Indian movies until recently had been limited to mainstream blockbusters. However, with the widespread reach of Netflix and other streaming services, independent directors are slowly gaining traction outside India. The enthusiastic support of filmmakers and producers from the Indian diaspora in the U.S. and Europe is another major factor leading to the resurgence of independent Indian films.
At the Festival de Cannes this year, Indian and Indian-origin filmmakers are making a splash with a wide range of offerings.
In Competition
Among the categories in competition, Payal Kapadia’s All We Imagine As Light is the lone Indian contender vying for the Palme d’Or crown. Payal is a returning Cannes winner, previously recognized for her documentary film A Night of Knowing Nothing in 2021. She is now tossing her hat into the ring for the top prize with her full-length feature that follows the journey of two modern-day Indian women living and working in Mumbai. Payal will be the first Indian to be nominated in 30 years and the first Indian female director ever to be recognized on this global stage.
The second competitive category, “Un-Certain Regard”, which includes movies by experimental and up-and-coming directors, features British-Indian filmmaker Sandhya Suri’s Santosh. The film explores the trials and tribulations of a recently widowed wife who takes on her husband’s job as a police constable in a village in northern India. As she investigates a murder, she is forced to reckon with the sociopolitical norms of the village, and her own biases and limitations.
Mansi Maheshwari an animator and filmmaker will compete in the “La Cinef ” category with her 9-minute short film Bunnyhood. Joining her in the same category is a Kannada short film, Sunflowers Were the First Ones to Know, directed by the young homegrown talent Chidananda S Naik. Besides these, Paulomi Basu and C J Clarke’s Maya: The Birth of a Superhero will compete for the best “immersive work” in the festival’s first Immersive Competition.
And bringing up the rear, the Radhika Apte starrer, Sister Midnight, directed by Karan Kandhari, is in the running for the Golden Camera award that recognizes cinematic achievement by first-time directors.
More films at parallel programs
Indian-made movies are also being highlighted in several other categories. In Retreat, directed by Maisam Ali is set to be the first Indian film to be featured in ACID (Association for the Distribution of Independent Cinema), a parallel program that celebrates indie filmmakers.
At the Marche du Film, the festival’s business wing, two more Indian films have found a spot: Kooki , a Hindi film from Assam, a teenage rape survior’s traumatic journey seeking justice, and Bengali film Putul, director Indira Dhar Mukkherjee’s debut feature.
In another bright spot for the Indian diaspora, an Indo-US co-production Paro – the Untold Story of Slavery is set to be launched at the Cannes’ Bharat Pavilion, which is organized at Cannes by the National Film Development Corporation (NFDC) in collaboration with the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce & Industry.
The movie was directed by Gajendra Ahire and produced by Indian American tech entrepreneur Priya Samant, who was the impact advisor for The Kashmir Files and The Kerala Story.