The 2025 Asian Film Awards was a glorious night for Indian talent. Among the best Asian productions of the year, including films like ‘Exhuma’ and ‘Black Dog,’ Indian titles have managed to trump the game. The award ceremony took place on March 16 at the Xiqu Centre, Hong Kong. Payal Kapadia’s Cannes winner ‘All We Imagine as Light’ and Sandhya Suri’s ‘Santosh’ emerged as the top winners of the studded night.

‘All We Imagine as Light’ wins Best Picture

Payal Kapadia’s directorial ‘All We Imagine as Light’ clinched the coveted Best Picture award at the 18^th Asian Film Awards. The film competed with ‘Black Dog’ from China, ‘Exhuma’ from South Korea, ‘Teki Cometh’ from Japan, and ‘Twilight of the Warriors: Walled In’ from Hong Kong.

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Reflecting on the win, Kapadia said, “We have such amazing work coming out of Asia, and we are so proud to be part of that community. And, especially here, because the community is celebrated, and I think that it is really important for us to look at all the cinema from Asia and to be part of that. It was already special to be nominated. It’s so great to win this award.”

 

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The film tells the story of two women in Mumbai. One is Prabha, a troubled nurse who receives an unexpected gift from her estranged husband. The other is her younger roommate, Anu, who is searching for a private space to be intimate with her boyfriend. The two embark on a beach trip that allows them to find a space for their desires to manifest.

‘All We Imagine as Light’ features Kani Kusruti, Divya Prabha, Chhaya Kadam, and Hridhu Haroon. The film is an Indo-French co-production between Petit Chaos from France and Chalk and Cheese Films from India. Janus and Sideshow will distribute the film in North America.

‘Santosh’ grabs two wins at the Asian Film Awards

‘Santosh’ managed to secure two notable titles of the night. Shahana Goswami took home the prestigious Best Actress for her role in the 2024 crime-thriller. Moreover, the film also earned filmmaker Sandhya Suri the Best New Director award.

Talking about the film, Goswami said, “The challenging part was to believe that I could play the part because I was very nervous about playing the character and feeling like I was acting. And I didn’t want it to seem like I was acting, I wanted it to feel real.”

 

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Goswami continued, “You always have this impostor syndrome. Things like this (trophy) help when you realise that ‘Oh maybe you didn’t do such a bad job’. So now I have a little bit more confidence in myself.”

The film chronicles the narrative of a newly widowed housewife who takes upon her late husband’s job as a police constable. Subsequently, she gets entangled in an investigation of a young girl’s murder. The film is a joint production involving India, the United Kingdom, France, and Germany.

Also Read: Guptam: Payal Kapadia, Richa Chadha, Ali Fazal join forces for Malayalam film