The nominations for the coveted British Academy Film Awards (BAFTA) 2025 are finally out. As per expectations, Payal Kapadia’s ground-breaking directorial ‘All We Imagine as Light’ is in the run for the Best Foreign Language Film. Moreover, out of five, three titles by Indian-origin filmmakers are competing in the Outstanding Debut by a British Writer, Director or Producer category. These include Sandhya Suri’s ‘Santosh,’ Karan Kandhari’s ‘Sister Midnight,’ and Dev Patel’s ‘Monkey Man.’

After receiving two nods at the Golden Globes, ‘All We Imagine as Light’ earns a nod at the BAFTA Awards. The budding filmmaker’s maiden project received two nods at the prestigious Golden Globe Awards. These include the Best Non-English Language Film and Best Director awards. However, the film failed to secure a win. Despite this, ‘All We Imagine as Light’ emerged as one of the top titles of 2024, globally. Kapadia outshined in the 77th Cannes Film Festival. Scripting history, her film bagged the second most prestigious award, following the Palme d’Or.

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Congratulations to our Film Not in the English Language nominees

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ALL WE IMAGINE AS LIGHT
EMILIA PÉREZ
I’M STILL HERE (AINDA ESTOU AQUI)
KNEECAP
THE SEED OF THE SACRED FIG#EEBAFTAs pic.twitter.com/p28gXgKSHz

— BAFTA (@BAFTA) January 15, 2025

The title also bagged several other prestigious accolades. These include the Best International Feature win from the New York Film Critics Circle, Los Angeles Film Critics Association, Chicago Film Critics Association and San Diego Film Critics Society. Moreover, The New York Times, Associated Press, Sight & Sound magazine, and Film Comment critics poll named ‘All We Imagine as Light’ as the #1 Film of the Year.

For the BAFTAs, the title is competing for the Best Film Not in the English Language. Other contenders are Jacques Audiard’s ‘Emilia Pérez,’ and Walter Salles’ ‘I’m Still Here.’ Moreover, Rich Peppiatt’s ‘Kneecap,’ and Mohammad Rasoulof’s ‘The Seed of the Sacred Fig’ are also in the run. Notably, Kapadia’s film becomes only the seventh Indian film to achieve a nomination. Notably, it is the first entry in over a decade since ‘The Lunchbox’ (2013).

For the unversed, ace filmmaker Meera Nair’s ‘Salaam Bombay!’ (1988) was the first Indian film to receive a nomination in this category. Moreover, Mira also earned the country its second nomination with ‘Monsoon Wedding’ (2001). Other Indian titles to make the cut previously include Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s ‘Devdas’ (2002). Asif Kapadia’s ‘The Warrior’ (2002) and Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra’s ‘Rang De Basanti’ (2006) also entered the race previously.

First up, the Outstanding Debut by a British Writer, Director or Producer nominees are…

LUNA CARMOON, Hoard
RICH PEPPIATT, Kneecap
DEV PATEL, Monkey Man
SANDHYA SURI, JAMES BOWSHER, BALTHAZAR DE GANAY, Santosh
KARAN KANDHARI, Sister Midnight#EEBAFTAs pic.twitter.com/Bando32XBB

— BAFTA (@BAFTA) January 15, 2025

Coming to the Outstanding Debut by British Writer, Director or Producer category, Sandhya Suri’s ‘Santosh’ and Karan Kandhari’s ‘Sister Midnight’ are in the run by virtue of producing their films in the UK. The titles are competing with Indian-origin actor turned filmmaker Dev Patel’s maiden directorial, ‘Monkey Man.’ The titles are running against Luna Carmoon’s ‘Hoard’ and Richard Peppiat’s ‘Kneecap.’

Also Read: Following ‘All We Imagine as Light’s success, Payal Kapadia plans a Bombay trilogy