Payal Kapadia's name is in the news these days. She has brought laurels to the country at Cannes. Filmmaker Payal has won the Grand Prix at the Cannes Film Festival. However, Payal, who graduated from FTII, was once called a 'traitor' and today she has become the pride of the country. However, it took her 9 years to do so. That's why everyone is talking about her. In 2015, she protested for 139 days when Gajendra Chauhan was made the chairman of FTII. Also faced slogans of 'Go to Pakistan'. Along with 34 other alumni, Payal Kapadia is fighting a legal battle in a case filed by the then director of the institute, Prashant Pathrabe, in which she has been accused of being involved in besieging him and vandalizing his office.
Payal Kapadia expressed happiness
But after winning the Cannes award, there was no hatred in Payal's words. She only felt the joy of winning. Which she shared with fellow filmmakers of India. 'It feels great to get this award, because along with India, we also have a lot of good films and we feel part of a big family of filmmakers. This time we have three films of FTII directors. My FTII batchmate Maisam Ali's film In Retreat is the first Indian entry in the ACID sidebar of Cannes.
Payal Kapadia protested in 2015
Payal's film on the 2015 FTII agitation also won a Cannes laurel. Besides, FTII student Chidanand Naik's film 'Sunflowers Were the First to Know' has won an award in the La Cinéfaye section. Payal's batchmates and other alumni recall that the 2015 protest was against the appointment of 'people who had no achievements in filmmaking' but were inducted into the governing council of FTII allegedly for political reasons.
Payal Kapadia credits the award to her
Payal credits her success to the teachers and students of FTII, 'It is also a great place to meet people who love cinema. My batchmates played an important role in shaping my ideas. At FTII we got to see films from all over the world and this experience helped me in making my film.'