Ahead Of Golden Globes 2025, Payal Kapadia wins Best Director Award for All We Imagine As Light at NSFC Awards - check out complete winners list

Payal Kapadia

Payal Kapadia’s cinematic triumph, All We Imagine As Light, has bagged the prestigious Best Director Award at the National Society of Film Critics (NSFC) Awards, marking another milestone in her illustrious career. Chosen by over 60 top critics, the NSFC Awards recognised excellence across categories like Best Picture, Director, Actor, and Actress.

Kapadia’s win comes as no surprise, given the global acclaim her film has garnered. Competing against some of the most celebrated names in the industry, All We Imagine As Light also emerged as a runner-up for Best Picture, with Nickel Boys clinching the top honour.

Check out the complete winners' list at the NSFC Awards:

Best Picture: Nickel Boys

Runners-up: All We Imagine As Light, Anora

Best Director: Payal Kapadia (All We Imagine As Light)

Runners-up: RaMell Ross (Nickel Boys), Sean Baker (Anora)

Best Screenplay: Jesse Eisenberg (A Real Pain)

Runners-up: Radu Jude (Do Not Expect Too Much from the End of the World); Sean Baker (Anora)

Best Actor: Colman Domingo (Sing Sing)

Runners-up: Adrien Brody (The Brutalist), Ralph Fiennes (Conclave)

Best Supporting Actor: Kieran Culkin (A Real Pain)

Runners-up: Guy Pearce (The Brutalist); Edward Norton (A Complete Unknown); Adam Pearson (A Different Man)

Best Actress: Marianne Jean-Baptiste (Hard Truths)

Runners-up: Mikey Madison (Anora), Ilinca Manolache (Do Not Expect Too Much From the End of the World)

Best Supporting Actress: Michele Austin (Hard Truths)

Runners-up: Aunjanue Ellis-Taylor (Nickel Boys); Natasha Lyonne (His Three Daughters)

Best Cinematography: Jomo Fray (Nickel Boys)

Runners-up: Lol Crawley (The Brutalist), Jarin Blaschke (Nosferatu)

Best Film Not in English Language: All We Imagine As Light

Runners-up: Do Not Expect Too Much from the End of the World, The Seed of the Sacred Fig

Best Nonfiction Film: No Other Land

Runners-up: Dahomey, Soundtrack to a Coup d’Etat

Special Citation for a Film Awaiting U.S. Distribution: No Other Land

Best Experimental Film: The Ballad of Suzanne Césaire

Film Heritage Award: To Save and Project: The MoMa International Festival of Film Preservation

Film Heritage Award: IndieCollect

Film Heritage Award: Scott Eyman

Payal Kapadia’s latest win heightens the buzz ahead of the Golden Globe Awards 2025, where All We Imagine As Light has been nominated in two major categories: Best Motion Picture – Non-English Language and Best Director – Motion Picture. The film’s critical acclaim extends to its inclusion in the BAFTA Film Awards longlists for Best Film Not in English Language, Best Director, and Best Original Screenplay.

All We Imagine As Light continues to blaze a trail for Indian cinema on the global stage. The film was named Best International Film by the New York Film Critics Circle and won the same category at the Gotham Awards. Notably, it made history as the first Indian film to win the Grand Prix award at the Cannes Film Festival in 2024.