LA LUZ QUE IMAGINAMOS

Payal Kapadia, the first female Indian director to compete – and Grand Prix winner for this film – reveals a distinctive, mature voice that pulses with the rhythm of masters like Wong Kar-wai and Lucrecia Martel. Her clear observational skills and visual exquisiteness – already shown in her acclaimed non-fiction debut – shine in this immersive portrayal of overcrowded Mumbai, a land of job opportunities and contradictions for two women who share a room while managing the physical and emotional distance from their partners in different ways. Their search for economic independence clashes with societal ties and barriers, as do their hopes, until a friend invites them to her seaside hometown. This sensitive and uplifting story will give them the radiant possibility of no longer feeling alone.