MUMBAI: Indian cinema is best known for Bollywood extravaganzas, but an art-house film about three women navigating loneliness and love in a metropolis is gaining viewers and earning international recognition, including nominations to the Golden Globe awards.
“All We Imagine as Light,” a multi-language film set in Mumbai, the country’s financial capital, has won several international awards this year, including the Grand Prix at Cannes, and is the first Indian film to be nominated in the Best Director category at the Golden Globes, which will be presented on Jan. 5.
It has also been nominated in the Best Picture category for non-English movies.
For director Payal Kapadia, the response to her debut film in her home country is an added bonus to the accolades it has earned abroad.
“It’s very difficult for independent films to get screens in India. I am very happy with the response. Now, I want to show the film in places in the country where it has not been shown so far, the smaller cities,” Kapadia told Reuters in an interview.
Independent, art-house films don’t find too many takers in India, where audiences are raised on a staple diet of Bollywood and other mainstream films, complete with song-and-dance routines, violence and melodrama, although more serious content on streaming platforms is slowly changing tastes.
With more than $2 million in box office sales globally, “All We Imagine as Light” also has entries to the Academy Awards for best picture, best director and best original screenplay, said a representative from Sideshow and Janus Films, which own the distribution rights in the US
But it was not India’s official submission to the Best Foreign Film category at the Oscars.
Kapadia, 38, said she thought of the idea of the film in a hospital waiting room. Initially conceived as a short film, it took eight years to make.
Former US President Barack Obama picked it as one of his favorite films of the year, in a list he shared on social media.
The story revolves around the friendship and love lives of three immigrant women who live and work in Mumbai, the congested metropolis of more than 12 million people, an important leitmotif in her film.
“Mumbai is a city of many contradictions. While life can be tough here, it gives people a sense of freedom as well. We tried capturing that in the film too,” Kapadia said.
In Bollywood-obsessed India, art-house film wins accolades, audiences
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In Bollywood-obsessed India, art-house film wins accolades, audiences
- Audiences in India are raised on a staple diet of Bollywood and other mainstream films, complete with song-and-dance routines, violence and melodrama
- With more than $2 million in box office sales globally, ‘All We Imagine as Light’ also has entries to the Academy Awards for best picture and best director
Review: Watching ‘Hobal’ at the Saudi Film Festival was an immersive experience
DHAHRAN: Watching “Hobal” at the 11th Saudi Film Festival, hosted at the King Abdulaziz Center for World Culture, or Ithra, was cathartic.
The setting in which the film was screened was significant. The cinema is close to Ithra’s Energy Exhibit, which allows visitors to explore the journey behind oil extraction and energy resources in the Kingdom on the very land where black gold was first discovered in 1938.
Attentive faces, bathed in the glowing light of the screen sat with popcorn-scented hands. Together, we embarked on a journey — both collective and deeply personal — without moving an inch.
“Hobal” tells the story of a Bedouin family, set in the early 1990s, living in extreme isolation, led by a paranoid patriarch (Ibrahim Al-Hasawi) who believes the end of times is near, and strongly forbids anyone from his family to venture into town.
The title, “Hobal,” is apt. It references a pre-Islamic figure whose word became gospel, offering deeper layers to the film’s exploration of power and belief.
The family’s situation intensifies when Rifa (Amal Sami), the teen girl, falls gravely ill with a highly contagious case of measles and is forced to isolate even further in a tent alone. Her anguished mother (Mila Al-Zahrani) is consumed with worry, but the men, under the strict guidance of the patriarch, refuse to leave the desert to seek medical help. The women — and young teen boy, Assaf — are confronted with a dilemma: Survival or obedience.
With the hissing desert winds, surrounded by stubborn tents and the suffocating grip of impending grief and unearthed betrayal, the question arises: Will they stay or will they go?
The film’s cinematography is a standout. One particularly stunning shot lingers — a mirror leaning into the sand, reflecting Rifa and Assaf in deep conversation seemingly side-by-side but while apart. The desert engulfs them but they seem grounded. It is shatteringly beautiful. The wisest figures seem to be the youngest.
Set against the backdrop of the Gulf War, the real battles feel internal.
What made watching “Hobal” even more powerful was experiencing it in a Saudi cinema — not too far, geographically, from where the Gulf War broke out, knowing this was a story entirely brought to life by local talent.
There is also a strong Ithra connection. The film was written by Mufarrij Almajfel, who also wrote the award-winning 2023 Ithra film “Hajjan” (about camels), which also starred Al-Hasawi — honored at this year’s festival for his remarkable career. Camels, the symbolic “ships of the desert,” make several meaningful appearances here too, helping to move the story along.
Directed by Abdulaziz Alshlahei and produced by Sharif Almajali (along with Alshlahei and Mohammed Al-Turki as executive producers), “Hobal” is a collaborative effort between Shaf Studios, Film Clinic and Peninsula Pictures Group.
The film had its world premiere at the 2024 Red Sea International Film Festival in Jeddah and was released in cinemas across the Kingdom in early 2025.
Since then, “Hobal” has grossed an impressive SR21.6 million (about $5.8 million) in its first month, quickly becoming the fastest-growing box office hit in Saudi cinematic history.
It is a film that will stay with you long after the credits roll.
L’Atelier Nawbar gains fans in Hollywood
- British star Cynthia Erivo wears label’s jewelry at Coachella
- Dima and Tania Nawbar head family business set up in 1881
DUBAI: Dima and Tania Nawbar, the sisters behind Lebanese jewelry label L’Atelier Nawbar, have added a new Hollywood name to their list of fans: Cynthia Erivo.
The British singer and actress was spotted this week wearing The Buoy Hoops from L’Atelier Nawbar’s latest Lot No. 91 collection during her Coachella debut.
Crafted from 18-karat yellow gold, the statement earrings were paired with a cream lace gown featuring wide bell sleeves layered over a black satin base. The look combined varied textures and was styled with over-the-knee black boots.
The sisters took to Instagram to share a picture of the star wearing the earrings and wrote: “In love!!!”
L’Atelier Nawbar was established in 2011. Dima and Tania are fourth generation jewelers. They are the first women to take over the family’s Beirut-based business which was founded by their great-great-grandfather in a gold souk in 1881.
Since establishing their own modern take on the brand, the sisters have gone on to see their designs worn by international celebrities including Queen Rania of Jordan and Joey King.
And they have their collection of rings, pendants, necklaces and bracelets stocked at major retailers including Harrods, Bloomingdales and Moda Operandi.
The designers previously told Arab News that they wanted trendy, multipurpose jewelry for every day and night. Their designs can be worn in various ways, with pendants serving also as rings, which reduces investment costs.
The sisters also decided to move away from the traditional business model and offer something new. “We didn’t want to traditionally follow the family business as it was,” Dima said.
So the sisters decided to embrace individuality by remodeling pieces and creating new bespoke jewelry for clients.
Clients are able to bring their own jewelry into the atelier, and the designers will upcycle and redesign the pieces into something fresh and modern.
Ramy Youssef stars in new film by ‘Succession’ creator
DUBAI: Ramy Youssef, Steve Carell, Jason Schwartzman and Cory Michael Smith play four billionaires in “Succession” creator Jesse Armstrong‘s HBO film, “Mountainhead.”
As they enjoy their trip, the world erupts in chaos with headlines such as “Sectarian Violence Escalates in India” and “President of Uzbekistan Forced to Move to Secret Location” interrupting their downtime.
In the trailer, the billionaires receive a call from the President of the United States. “What could he possibly have to say?” asks Smith.
Youssef responds: “That your platform has inflamed a volatile situation, circulating unfalsifiable deepfakes, massive fraud, market instability.”
Armstrong wrote and directed the film, which is a parody of the lives of the ultra-wealthy.
Filming began on “Mountainhead” in March, giving the crew a tight turnaround time before the film’s release on May 31.
In a recent interview with Variety, Youssef teased the film, saying it’s “funny in the same way ‘Succession’ is.”
Egyptian American comedian, writer, actor and director Youssef is known for creating and starring in “Ramy” on the US streaming platform Hulu, which won him a Golden Globe in 2020 in the category Best Performance by an Actor in a Television Series, Musical or Comedy.
His animated series “#1 Happy Family USA” had world premiere at the South by Southwest Film Festival in Austin, Texas, in March.
Red Sea Film Foundation announces mentorship program with Spike Lee
DUBAI: Academy Award-winning filmmaker Spike Lee – known for films like “Malcolm X” and “BlacKkKlansman” – is teaming up with Saudi Arabia's Red Sea Film Foundation to launch the brand new Director’s Program.
The initiative will bring together 15 selected filmmakers for a “one-of-a-kind, intimate and inspiring mentoring experience” with Lee, according to an Instagram post from the foundation.
Taking place from April 30 to May 3, the program offers emerging directors from the Middle East and Asia a rare opportunity to learn from one of the most influential voices in cinema.
Applications are open until April 24.
Simone Biles wins Laureus award in Saudi design
- Saudi Arabia’s Eman Al-Ajlan designed Biles’ dress
- US gymnast won 3 gold, 1 silver at Paris Olympics
DUBAI: US gymnast Simone Biles took home the Sportswoman of the Year award at the 2025 Laureus World Sports Awards this week, wearing a black gown by Saudi Arabia designer Eman Al-Ajlan.
The athlete opted for a strapless dress with a structured corset bodice featuring nude and black embroidered detailing. It included a voluminous peplum-style layer at the waist and a floor-length, sheer black skirt.
She paired the look with simple diamond accessories and a black Tyler Ellis bag.
The American gymnast won three gold and a silver at the Paris Olympics.
Swedish pole vaulter Mondo Duplantis was named Sportsman of the Year. He had won a second Olympic gold medal and twice raised his own world record.
Al-Ajlan shared a photo on Instagram of Biles wearing her design, writing: “Congratulations @simonebiles on winning the Laureus World Sportswoman of the Year Award.”
This is not the first time Al-Ajlan’s designs have appeared on major red carpets.
Earlier this year, at the 96th Academy Awards, US social media personality Kristy Sarah wore a gown by Al-Ajlan.
The dress was a strapless, form-fitting gown in a soft nude tone. It featured a structured, ruched bodice that extended into a mermaid-style silhouette.
The skirt and train were embellished with three-dimensional floral appliques in shades of lavender and lilac.
In 2023, she dressed US actress, dancer, and social media star Tessa Brooks in an all-black ensemble for the MusiCares Persons of the Year event in Los Angeles.
The following year, British model and TV presenter Leomie Anderson wore a structured look by Al-Ajlan at the 2024 amfAR Gala in Cannes, featuring a mini dress layered with a net-like skirt.
Al-Ajlan, who launched her label in 2007, is based in Riyadh and specializes in couture, bridal and pret-a-porter designs.
She has dressed several regional celebrities for international events, including Saudi Arabia actresses Mila Alzahrani and Dae Al-Hilali at the 2019 Venice Film Festival.
In 2024, Riyadh-based TV host Ajwa Aljoudi wore a mustard gown by the designer to the 76th Primetime Emmy Awards in Hollywood.
