India @ Cannes 2024: Seven Indian films that are set to make their mark at the festival

All We Imagine As Light is a movie directed and written by Payal Kapadia. It will be screened in the category of Palm D'or. It is the first Indian movie in 30 years being screened and competing in this category. Payal Kapadia is also the first Indian female director to achieve this feat. Her affiliation with the Film Festival goes back to 2017, when her short film Afternoon Clouds was screened. In 2021, she won the Golden Eye for the Best Documentary for her movie A Night Of Knowing Nothing.

All We Imagine As Light is centered around two girls. Prabha attempts to grapple with life when she receives a gift from her estranged husband. Meanwhile, her roommate, Anu, tries to find place to be alone with her boyfriend. The two of them embark on a road-trip to a beach town to find answers.

Santosh is directed by Sandhya Suri. It was screened under the category of Un Certain Regard.

Sunflowers Were The First Ones To Know... is directed by Chidananda S Naik. It is set to be screened in the La Cinef category of the Festival. This Kannada film is based on a folktale that Chidananda has been hearing since his childhood. When an old lady steals the rooster of a village, the sun stops rising. A prophecy is invoked to bring the rooster back. The prophecy send the old woman's family into exile.

Manthan is a movie by Shyam Benegal, released in 1975. It stars Naseeruddin Shah, Smita Patil and Girish Karnad. The restored version of this movie will be screened as a part of the section, Cannes Classic. It is one of the earliest examples of a crowd-funded movie, with 500,000 farmers contributing Rs. 2 each. These farmers were members of the Gujarat Co-operative Milk Marketing Federation Ltd. It revolves around the story of a veterinarian from the city who comes to a village aiming to begin a milk cooperative movement.

Sister Midnight is a film directed by Karan Kandhari, stars Radhika Apte, known for Andhadhun, and Ashok Pathak, known for his role in Panchaayat. It will be debuting as a part of the Director's Fortnight segment in Cannes 2024. It is the only Indian film to be showcased in this segment. Set in Mumbai, it revolves around an arranged marriage, as the husband watches his wife transform into a ruthless force within the confines of their marriage.

Radhika Apte, in a still from Sister Midnight. She will inhabit the role of the formidable wife, in the movie Sister Midnight. Her fans await the release of the film with bated breath

In Retreat is directed by Maisam Ali. It will be screened by the Association for the Diffusion of Independent Cinema (ACID). This exemplary film is the first Indian film to be a part of ACID.

In Retreat revolves around a man in his 50s who returns to Leh, after being gone for long. It is about his journey of wanting to reconnect with the place he once called home.

Shameless is directed by Bulgarian filmmaker Konstantin Bojanov. It is set to screen in the Un Certain Regard category. It revoles around Renuka who after escaping from a brothel takes refuge in a community of sex workers. She meets and soon falls in love with Devika, a 17 year old prostitute there. The two of them try to embark on a life of freedom together.