Indian filmmaker Payal Kapadia scripted history at the 77 th Cannes Film Festival with her debut feature All We Imagine As Light. The film, starring Kani Kusruti, Divya Prabha, Chhaya Kadam, and Hridhu Haroon among others, won the festival’s second-highest honour, the Grand Prix award. A still from All We Imagine As Light.
(Photo Courtesy: YouTube) Kapadia was a student at India’s Film and Television Institute (FTII) and, in 2015, was one of the students who faced disciplinary action after a four-month protest. A 139-Day Protest at FTII, Pune That year, the students of FTII held a protest against the appointment of actor-turned-politician Gajendra Chauhan. The protest lasted for over 130 days but on the 68 th day, the then FTII director Prashant Pathrabe had issued an order to the students of the 2008 batch to vacate their hostels.
After students gheraoed Pathrabe to demand a hold on their assessments, the Pune Police arrested multiple students. ADVERTISEMENT REMOVE AD Speaking to The Quint, FTII students had said that they had to make a move like the gherao as the standard procedure of assessment wasn’t followed. Pathrabe had presented a notice to the students to assess their incomplete projects.
While five students were arrested, 35 were named in the charge sheet, including Payal Kapadia, according to the Indian Express. Hindustan Times had also reported that, as part of the disciplinary action, Kapadia lost her scholarship and her chance to participate in the foreign.
