New Delhi, 13 May 

Indian filmmaker Payal Kapadia on Tuesday made an appearance for a photocall at the opening ceremony of the 78th Cannes Film Festival as part of the prestigious gala's jury panel.

This marks Kapadia's return to Cannes a year after she charted history as the first Indian director to win the Grand Prix for her debut feature film 'All We Imagine As Light,' a joint India and France production. The Malayalam-Hindi movie became the first film from India to be part of Cannes Competition after a 30-year gap.

For the photocall, Kapadia appeared alongside Cannes jury president and French cinema star Juliette Binoche, American actor and filmmaker Halle Berry, Italian actor Alba Rohrwacher, French-Moroccan writer Leila Slimani, Congolese director-producer Dieudo Hamadi, Korean director and screenwriter Hong Sangsoo, Mexican filmmaker Carlos Reygadas and American actor Jeremy Strong.

Kapadia chose a blue blouse and a red asymmetrical skirt ensemble by designer Payal Khandwala, who also dressed the director for her appearance on the red carpet of the Golden Globes 2025 ceremony earlier this year.

The Cannes jury panel will award its top prize, the Palme d'or, to one of the 21 films in Competition. Winners will be announced on 24 May at the closing ceremony of the festival.

In the past, Indian film personalities such as Mrinal Sen, Mira Nair, Shekhar Kapur, Aishwarya Rai Bachchan, Nandita Das, Sharmila Tagore, Vidya Balan, and Deepika Padukone have served on the Cannes jury.