Events

Past Event

All We Imagine as Light

October 29, 2025
6:30 PM - 8:30 PM
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East Gallery, Maison Française, Buell Hall

Payal Kapadia, 2024, 118 min.

The light, the lives, and the textures of contemporary, working-class Mumbai are explored and celebrated by writer/director Payal Kapadia, who won the Grand Prize at this year’s Cannes Film Festival for her revelatory fiction feature debut. Centering on two roommates who also work together in a city hospital—head nurse Prabha (Kani Kusruti) and recent hire Anu (Divya Prabha)—plus their coworker, cook Parvaty (Chhaya Kadam), Kapadia’s film alights on moments of connection and heartache, hope and disappointment. Prabha, her husband from an arranged marriage living in faraway Germany, is courted by a doctor at her hospital; Anu carries on a romance with a Muslim man, which she must keep a secret from her strict Hindu family; Parvaty finds herself dealing with a sudden eviction from her apartment. Kapadia captures the bustle of the metropolis and the open-air tranquility of a seaside village with equal radiance, articulated by her superb actresses and by the camera with a lyrical naturalism that occasionally drifts into dreamlike incandescence. All We Imagine as Light is a soulful study of the transformative power of friendship and sisterhood, in all its complexities and richness.

Watch the trailer here

This screening is made possible by the generous support of Albertine Cinémathèque. Albertine Cinémathèque is part of the French for All initiative by Villa Albertine and Albertine Foundation and is made possible by the support of the Centre National du Cinema et de l’Image Animée (CNC).

Event Details & Important Information

This event is free and open to the public, but please note that registration does not guarantee a seat. We intentionally overbook our events, and seating is first come, first served. We recommend arriving early.

Important: Campus Access Requirements

Columbia’s campus is currently open only to Columbia-affiliated guests (with a valid CUID).
If you do not have a Columbia ID, you will need a QR code to enter campus.

To receive a QR code:

  • You must register on Eventbrite at least 48 hours in advance
  • We will submit your name and email to Public Safety
  • You will receive an email from [email protected] with your unique QR code

Please check your spam/junk folder if you don’t see the email, and bring a valid photo ID with you to present at campus entry points.