Payal Kapadia opens up about her Mumbai trilogy at Cannes 2025: ‘City is full of contradictions’

At the Cannes Film Festival in France, filmmaker Payal Kapadia opened up about the films she has planned after All We Imagine As Light.

Filmmaker Payal Kapadia spoke to the press in France about returning to the Cannes Film Festival as a jury member after her film All We Imagine As Light became the first Indian film to win the Grand Prix award last year. She spoke about why her next films are also set in Mumbai, much like her last. (Also Read: Halle Berry says this about female James Bond; talks about changing Cannes outfit last minute due to dress code)

Indian filmmaker and member of the jury of the 78th cannes film festival Payal Kapadia poses during a photocall at the 78th edition of the Cannes Film Festival in Cannes, southern France, on May 13, 2025. (Sameer AL-DOUMY / AFP)

Payal Kapadia on her Mumbai trilogy

Payal thanked the press for lending her film All We Imagine As Light visibility last year and said, “Our film coming to Cannes and getting the recognition, and all of you (press) writing about it, really helped us to get the film out. And, even the distribution in India was really helped by that. So, I’m really grateful. One thing as a filmmaker is that your film should be watched by your own country and everywhere else. So, that was a really big bonus for me.” 

She then spoke about her upcoming films, two films that are also set in Mumbai and follow All We Imagine As Light, stating, “I am right now working on two more films based on my city, which is Mumbai. So, to have like a trilogy but with different characters. It’s a city that is complex and full of contradictions. There’s a lot for me to explore still, and I need to get that out before I move on to anything else.”

Payal Kapadia at Cannes

All We Imagine As Light made waves at the Cannes Film Festival last year when it won the Grand Prix award. The film featuring Malayalam, Hindi and Marathi languages starred Kani Kusruti, Divya Prabha, Chhaya Kadam and Hridhu Haroon. The Indian-French production told the story of two Malayali women navigating life, love and loss in Mumbai. 

Payal appeared for a photocall on Tuesday alongside Cannes jury president and French cinema star Juliette Binoche, American actor and filmmaker Halle Berry, Italian actor Alba Rohrwacher, French-Moroccan writer Leila Slimani, Congolese director-producer Dieudo Hamadi, Korean director and screenwriter Hong Sangsoo, Mexican filmmaker Carlos Reygadas and American actor Jeremy Strong.