All We Imagine as Light

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All We Imagine as Light

2024

1h 58m

Drama

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158 Reviews

70%

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250+ Ratings

The light, the lives, and the textures of contemporary, working-class Mumbai are explored and celebrated by writer/director Payal Kapadia, who won the Grand Prize at this year's Cannes Film Festival for her revelatory fiction feature debut. Centering on two roommates who also work together in a city hospital--head nurse Prabha (Kani Kusruti) and recent hire Anu (Divya Prabha)--plus their coworker, cook Parvaty (Chhaya Kadam), Kapadia's film alights on moments of connection and heartache, hope and disappointment. Prabha, her husband from an arranged marriage living in faraway Germany, is courted by a doctor at her hospital; Anu carries on a romance with a Muslim man, which she must keep a secret from her strict Hindu family; Parvaty finds herself dealing with a sudden eviction from her apartment. Kapadia captures the bustle of the metropolis and the open-air tranquility of a seaside village with equal radiance, articulated by her superb actresses and by the camera with a lyrical naturalism that occasionally drifts into dreamlike incandescence. All We Imagine as Light is a soulful study of the transformative power of friendship and sisterhood, in all its complexities and richness.

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Critics Consensus

Capturing the here and now of modern India with the spontaneity of a candid photograph, All We Imagine as Light is a lustrous achievement that announces Payal Kapadia as an essential filmmaker.

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Arjun Sajip

Sight & Sound

Dec 31, 2025

Payal Kapadia presents an inventive drama about three nurses navigating life in Mumbai that takes a poetic approach to expressing painful truths.

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Adam Nayman

Toronto Star

Jun 17, 2025

4/4

It takes an awful lot of skill to make cinema feel this effortless.

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Odie Henderson

Boston Globe

Jan 29, 2025

3.5/4

This is a very patient movie, filled with equally patient performances, lyrical camerawork and some stunning images of its characters residing within the frame. Kapadia’s screenplay builds fleshed out characters, even in the supporting roles.

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Kathy Fennessy

Video Librarian Magazine

Jun 30, 2026

4.5/5

All We Imagine as Light avoids polemics, but strongly suggests through actions rather than words that patriarchal tradition and female agency will always be at cross-purposes--if not for all women, for too many.

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Akhil Arora

The Long Take Podcast

Sep 29, 2025

[T]he film’s bittersweet exploration of urban loneliness and the migrant experience, its depiction of Mumbai, and [Payal] Kapadia’s command over tone.

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Pablo O. Scholz

Clarín

Sep 20, 2025

4/4

All We Imagine as Light...radiates poetry wherever you look. [Full review in Spanish]

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Dave D

Jan 13, 2025

very slow moving with some great cinematography good acting some farrowing and sweet moments

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jeffrey s

Jan 1, 2025

beautiful shot film with some heartwarming performances, just felt the story got a little lost at the end.

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Eva

Dec 12, 2024

Lovely tale of the intertwined lives of three women in Mumbai. I would make a point of seeing it if you can.

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Roy J

Dec 4, 2024

Wasn't expecting half the movie to be about Mumbai then suddenly shift to a sea-side village. Excellent performances and direction. India should have submitted this for the Oscars

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Laldee

Nov 25, 2024

Beautiful atmospheric film about love and female friendship.

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devdutt

Nov 24, 2024

well acted, good use of colour palette, some funny and poetic moments. seemingly gratuitous exposure of the body that felt awkward and contrived, slow meandering pace that seemed unnecessary. imagination as the light in a dark world is a character in the film. if youre into lingering meaningful glances this film is for you.

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Payal Kapadia

Director

Kani Kusruti

Actor

Divya Prabha

Actor

Chhaya Kadam

Actor

Hridhu Haroon

Actor

Payal Kapadia

Screenwriter

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All We Imagine as Light: Trailer 1

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Synopsis

The light, the lives, and the textures of contemporary, working-class Mumbai are explored and celebrated by writer/director Payal Kapadia, who won the Grand Prize at this year's Cannes Film Festival for her revelatory fiction feature debut. Centering on two roommates who also work together in a city hospital--head nurse Prabha (Kani Kusruti) and recent hire Anu (Divya Prabha)--plus their coworker, cook Parvaty (Chhaya Kadam), Kapadia's film alights on moments of connection and heartache, hope and disappointment. Prabha, her husband from an arranged marriage living in faraway Germany, is courted by a doctor at her hospital; Anu carries on a romance with a Muslim man, which she must keep a secret from her strict Hindu family; Parvaty finds herself dealing with a sudden eviction from her apartment. Kapadia captures the bustle of the metropolis and the open-air tranquility of a seaside village with equal radiance, articulated by her superb actresses and by the camera with a lyrical naturalism that occasionally drifts into dreamlike incandescence. All We Imagine as Light is a soulful study of the transformative power of friendship and sisterhood, in all its complexities and richness.

Director: Payal Kapadia
Screenwriter: Payal Kapadia
Distributor: Sideshow / Janus Films
Production Co: Chalk and Cheese, Another Birth, arte France Cinéma, Les Films Fauves, Pulpa Film, BALDR Film, Petit Chaos
Genre: Drama
Original Language: Malayalam
Release Date (Theaters): Nov 15, 2024, Limited
Release Date (Streaming): Feb 4, 2025
Box Office (Gross USA): $1.1M
Runtime: 1h 58m
Sound Mix: Dolby Digital
Aspect Ratio: Flat (1.66:1)

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