Golden Globe Awards 2025: Payal Kapadia's 'All We Imagine As Light' To Lock Horns With Equally Good Films

All eyes will be on Payal Kapadia and her film 'All We Imagine As Light' at the 82nd Golden Globe Awards. Kapadia is nominated in the Best Director category, marking a first for an Indian filmmaker.

If she wins, she could make history. However, the category is highly competitive this awards season, with no clear frontrunner.

Photo Credit: PTI/AP

Can Kapadia win?

'All We Imagine As Light' has also been nominated in the Best Motion Picture in a Non-English Language category. Other nominees include Jacques Audiard for 'Emilia Pérez', Sean Baker for 'Anora', Edward Berger for 'Conclave', Brady Corbet for 'The Brutalist', and Coralie Fargeat for 'The Substance'.

The Golden Globe Awards are often the first major indicator of the awards season, which culminates with the Academy Awards. Kapadia stands a strong chance in the Best Director category, and if she wins, she would certainly be in the Oscar conversation. However, there are other factors that could impact the race.

Other contenders

The only other non-English film in the Best Director category alongside 'All We Imagine As Light' is 'Emilia Pérez', for which Jacques Audiard is nominated. 'Emilia Pérez' has set the record for the most nominations ever in the musical/comedy categories, with 10.

This demonstrates the significant praise for the drug cartel musical drama, which impressed at Cannes earlier this year. Audiard, who also received nominations for Best Screenplay and Best Original Score, is a strong contender.

He is no stranger to the HFPA, with two previous films, 'The Prophet' and 'Rust and Bone', having earned nominations in the non-English film category. If Audiard wins, he could be a frontrunner for the Oscars.

Another strong contender in the Best Director category is Brady Corbet, with his three-hour-long epic 'The Brutalist', which tells the story of a Holocaust survivor.

'The Brutalist' has earned 7 nominations and has built strong momentum since it won Best Director at the Venice Film Festival. With actors like Adrien Brody and Guy Pearce also in the running for acting awards, if 'The Brutalist' takes home a Golden Globe, it will likely be in the Best Director category.

Edward Berger's Conclave has received 6 nominations, while Coralie Fargeat's body-horror film 'The Substance' and Sean Baker's 'Anora' each have five nominations.

Kapadia's potential win in the Best Director category would be seen as a surprising achievement, especially since the Golden Globes have traditionally favoured US productions in this category. In the last five years, all winners have been from US films, with three of those also going on to win the Oscar for Best Director.

'All We Imagine As Light' has a better chance in the Non-English Feature Film category. The film has gained significant momentum in recent weeks, winning numerous critics' circle awards. It was named Best Foreign Language Film of the year by the Gotham Awards, New York Film Critics Circle, Los Angeles Film Critics Association, San Diego Film Critics Society, Chicago Film Critics Association, Toronto Film Critics Association, and more. 'Sight and Sound' recently called it the best film of the year, beating out other frontrunners like 'The Seed of the Sacred Fig', 'I'm Still Here', and 'Anora'.

The only other Indian co-production to win in the Non-English Feature Film category at the Golden Globes was 'Gandhi', the 1982 biopic directed by Richard Attenborough. 'Salaam Bombay!' by Mira Nair was also nominated in 1988, and in 2022, 'RRR' by SS Rajamouli earned a nomination in the same category.

The Golden Globe Awards will stream LIVE and exclusively in India on Lionsgate Play on January 6, starting at 6:30 AM IST.