Who is Payal Kapadia? Meet Indian origin Cannes Film Festival 2025 jury member and 'All We Imagine As Light' filmmaker

Payal Kapadia, who made headlines last year and etched her name in history by securing the Grand Prix for her debut feature film "All We Imagine As Light", came onboard as Cannes Film Festival 2025 jury member. Her return to the French Riviera as a panellist a year later is notable after her success at the 77th Cannes Film Festival.

On Tuesday, the 39-year-old filmmaker was spotted at the red carpet of the 78th edition of the prestigious gala as one of the panellists.

Payal Kapadia early life

Born on January 4 in 1986, Payal Kapadia was able to explore films and theatre at a very young age as she was born to painter and video artist, Nalini Malani, while her father, Shailesh Kapadia, was a psychoanalyst.

An alumnus of Andhra Pradesh's Rishi Valley School, she graduated from Mumbai's St Xavier's College and obtained her master's degree from Sophia College for Women. Later on, she obtained a degree in film direction from the Film and Television Institute of India.

Her time at Film and Television Institute was notable as she played a critical role in the protest against the appointment of actor-politician Gajendra Chauhan as chairman of the institute. Her accolades are not limited to the recent Grand Prix, other noteworthy achievements include selection of her short film -the only Indian film - ‘Afternoon Clouds’ in 2017 for the 70th Cannes Film Festival.

She was honoured with the Golden Eye award for her debut feature 'A Night of Knowing Nothing' in the best documentary film category at the 74th Cannes Film Festival. It is important to note that 'All We Imagine as Light' also found a place in the nomination list of the Golden Globe Award for Best Director.

At the Cannes 2025, Payal Kapadia said to reporters, “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.”

Jury Members of the Cannes Film Festival 2025

Cannes Film Festival 2025's other jury members include Juliette Binoche, Halle Berry, Jeremy Strong, Alba Rohrwacher, Leïla Slimani, Dieudo Hamadi, Hong Sangsoo, and Carlos Reygadas.