Filmmaker Payal Kapadia made India proud as she created history by becoming the first Indian to win the Grand Prix award at the Cannes Film Festival for her film All We Imagine As Light.
This film was also the first Indian film in over 30 years to be part of the main competition at Cannes. While Payal Kapadia is receiving much-deserved love and recognition, few people know that in 2015, she led a major protest at the Film and Television Institute of India (FTII) against the appointment of actor-turned-politician Gajendra Chauhan as chairman.
Who is Payal Kapadia?
Payal Kapadia, born in 1986, is an Indian filmmaker. She won the Golden Eye award for best documentary at the 2021 Cannes Film Festival for "A Night of Knowing Nothing." Her film "Afternoon Clouds" was the only Indian selection at the 70th Cannes Film Festival in 2017. In 2024, she won the Grand Prix at Cannes for "All We Imagine as Light."
Protested against FTII
In 2015, Payal Kapadia was a prominent leader in the 138-day protest at the Film and Television Institute of India (FTII). Students claimed that Gajendra Chauhan lacked the necessary vision to be the chairman of the prestigious institution. To show their dissent, Payal and other students boycotted classes and protested for over four months.
An FIR was filed against her, and her FTII grant was revoked during her direction course due to her leading a protest against the appointment of TV actor-turned-politician Gajendra Chauhan as FTII chairman.
In 2015, an FIR was filed against Payal Kapadia and 34 other students for holding FTII director Prashant Pathrabe captive in his office. The protest, led by Payal, was against Pathrabe's decision to assess incomplete projects of the 2008 batch students.
During the 138-day protest at FTII in 2015, Payal Kapadia faced disciplinary action and had her grant cut. However, after Gajendra Chauhan's tenure as chairman ended, FTII announced support for Kapadia in 2017. At that time, she was in her third year and her short film "Afternoon Clouds" was selected for the 70th Cannes Film Festival.
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