Anuja, produced by Guneet Monga and Priyanka Chopra Jonas, won award for Best Live Action Short Film. Payal Kapadia’s drama did not manage to do this.
The 97th Academy Awards announced the final nominees on Thursday. Payal Kapadia’s drama All We Imagine as Light, which received exceptional acclaim, was notably absent from the nominations. On 16 February, the film received a nomination for the BAFTA 2025 award for “Best Film Not in the English Language.” This follows the film’s previous nomination for the award.
Considering the previous delay in nominations due to the wildfires in Los Angeles, Hollywood actors Bowen Yang and Rachel Sennott announced the nominees for the 97th Academy Awards on Tuesday. On 2nd March at the Dolby Theatre, comedian Conan O’Brien will host the 97th Academy Awards.
The Brutalist and Wicked each received ten nominations, while Emilia Pérez garnered thirteen. In addition to Flow, I Am Still Here, The Girl with the Needle, Emilia Pérez, and The Saeed of the Sacred Fig have been submitted for consideration for the Best International Feature Film award.
The Film Federation of India (FFI) chose Kiran Rao’s Laapataa Ladies to represent India at the Oscar for Best International Feature Film, despite widespread opinion that All We Imagine as Light was the better film. However, aapataa Ladies ko Oscar nomination bhe nahi milsakti. Anujawill, directed by Puneet Monga and Priyanka Chopra Jonas, will be India’s entry in the Oscars for the Best Live Action Short Film category at the 2025 Oscars.
The Netflix film, written and directed by Adam J. Graves, produced by Suchitra Mattai, stars Sajda Pathan, Ananya Shanbhag and Nagesh Bhonsle. Sajda Pathan is cast as nine-year-old Anuja, and Ananya Shanbhag plays her sister Palak. They both work in a textile company in Delhi. The fate of Anuja’s family rests on a decision.
The series is executive produced by Priyanka Chopra, who also collaborated with the producers Mindy Kaling and Guneet Monga Kapoor on the Academy Award-winning documentary short film The Elephant Whisperers.
Kapadia took home the Grand Prix at the 77th Cannes Film Festival in May 2024 — becoming the first Indian filmmaker to do so — and All We Imagine as Light has become an international sensation since. All We Imagine as Light captured notable wins in major magazine year-end polls in 2024.
It has been honoured as one of the best of the year by the Gotham Awards, the Los Angeles Film Critics Association, the New York Film Critics Circle, the Toronto Film Critics Association, the San Diego Film Critics Society, the Asia Pacific Screen Awards, and the Chicago Film Critics Association. All We Imagine as Light was a top contender for the Oscars, despite enduring a loss to the Golden Globes for Best Foreign Language Film and Best Director. Kani Kusruti, Divya Prabha, and Chhaya Kadam are standout as the two nurses in the business of the play.
The filmmaker of All We Imagine as Light, Payal Kapadia, hoped for nods in the categories of Best Original Screenplay, Best Director, or Best Picture. Kapadia could land picks for Best Original Screenplay, Best Director, or Best Picture.