Indian filmmaker Payal Kapadia donates award prize money to Ukraine's humanitarian cause

The Molodist Film Festival's press service shared the information with zaxid.net.

The winner of the Cannes Film Festival Grand Prix, Indian director Payal Kapadia, who won this year’s award at the Molodist Film Festival, has shown support for Ukraine.

Her film All We Imagine As Light was named the best feature film at the festival. In recognition, she received the Scythian Deer statuette and a cash prize of $2,000. Payal Kapadia requested that the funds be donated to humanitarian causes.

The festival team suggested that she transfer the prize to the Bulldozer organization, which had been collecting funds during the Molodist Film Festival to repair vehicles. This organization is involved in the evacuation and transport of fallen Ukrainian defenders' bodies back home.

In 2017, Payal Kapadia's short film Afternoon Clouds was the only Indian film selected for the 70th Cannes Film Festival. In 2021, the director debuted with her feature-length documentary essay A Night of Knowing Nothing about student protests at the Film and Television Institute of India, winning her first Cannes award, the Golden Camera for best debut.

All We Imagine As Light became the first Indian film to win the Grand Prix at the Cannes Film Festival. The film tells the story of three women of different ages and classes who moved from remote areas of India to Mumbai and work as nurses.