Filmmaker Payal Kapadia, known for her critically acclaimed film All We Imagine as Light, is set to go back to the Cannes Film Festival again. Payal is going to head the Cannes Critics’ Week, which is slated to run from May 13 to 21 with the marque festival.

Joining Payal on the jury are actor Theodore Pellerin, songwriter-singer Oklou, filmmaker Ama Ampadu, and Bangkok World Film Festival director and journalist Donsaron Kovitvanitcha.

Payal's documentary, A Night of Knowing Nothing was premiered at the 2021 edition of the Cannes Film Festival and won its L’Oeil d’Or award. Then, she bagged the Cannes Grand Prix for All We Imagine as Light, a film that tells the story of nurses trying to make a living in a metropolis such as Mumbai.

Reflecting on her jury selection, Payal said, “My own journey as a filmmaker was supported early on because of film festival selections. Through these, I had the opportunity to meet others like myself from across the world and helped me build a community of future collaborators.”

The filmmaker added that her new role at Cannes comes when there is an erosion of independent cinema across nations and when it has become "almost a resistance to market forces" to support first films. Acknowledging the Cannes Critics’ Week’s Raison d’être, the filmmaker described film criticism as "one of the key components of the independent and art house film ecosystem." She added, "The first films are often freer, more daring and fearless, having an individual voice and to champion those is absolutely essential. First films are also fragile, and to be nurtured in a section like Critics’ Week helps them blossom amongst already established filmmakers’ work."