Cannes 2024: 12 Indian films set to dominate film festival
What's the story
The 77th Cannes Film Festival, a global cinema event commencing on Tuesday (May 14) is set to witness an unprecedented representation from India. This year, as many as 12 Indian films centered around the country's core themes will be showcased at this prestigious festival. This marks a significant increase from the previous year when India presented just five films. Here are the details about these films.
Competition details
These Indian films will compete at Cannes 2024
Six of the 12 Indian films will compete in various sub-sections across the film festival. Among these, Payal Kapadia's All We Imagine as Light is vying for the prestigious Palme d'Or, marking the first Indian entry to compete in this category in nearly three decades. Other entries include Sandhya Suri's Santosh and Konstantin Bojanov's The Shameless, both competing under the Un Certain Regard section.
More entries
Additional Indian films and categories at Cannes 2024
A student project from FTII, titled Sunflowers Were the First Ones to Know, will compete in the La Cinef competition. Directed by Chidanand Naik, this film is the only Indian entry in this segment, competing against 17 other short films chosen from an impressive 2,263 global submissions. Meanwhile, UK-based Indian filmmaker Maheshwari's animated film Bunnyhood and Kandhari's Sister Midnight, featuring Radhika Apte, are also set to be showcased.
Diverse representation
Heard of 'Let's Spook Cannes' event? India is there too!
In a proud moment, Manoj Annadurai's Iruvam is one of only four entries globally selected for the Let's Spook Cannes event. Let's Spook Cannes presents horror and fantasy projects merging film and video games. Claimed as the sole Indian representation, Iruvam—an English-Tamil interactive film—stars Varsha Bollamma.
Other entries
'Maya,' 'In Retreat': Know about other Indian entries
In the Immersive Competition, Maya: The Birth of a Superhero by Basu and Clarke is vying for a spot. Maisam Alian, FTII alumnus, will participate in ACID Cannes with his debut feature In Retreat. Assamese film Kooki, directed by Pranab J Deka, and Sajeed A. Raman's film Vadakkan will be screened at the Fantastic Pavilion Gala. Meanwhile, Shyam Benegal's iconic 1975 film Manthan will return in a 4K restored version in the Cannes Classics section.