A Night Of Knowing Nothing
by Payal Kapadia
The producers will be attending
In competition 2021
Official synopsis
L, a university student in India, writes letters to her estranged lover, while he is away. Through these letters, we get a glimpse into the drastic changes taking place around her. Merging reality with fiction, dreams, memories, fantasies and anxieties, an amorphous narrative unfolds.
The programmer’s eye
“A Night Of Knowing Nothing” is a film of correspondence. Feverish anonymous love letters first and then student revolts in which fear and anger mingle. Between the sadness of an epistolary relationship that has become one-sided and the political investment of a film school’s students, director Payal Kapadia ignites wildfire. The explosion is political and dreamlike, reconnecting with militant cinema thanks to a montage that alternates between tender and intimate scenes, or those filled with collective fury. The film is a sumptuous cinema experience that encourages militant and romantic commitment, and won the Oeil d’or Award in Cannes this year. — Victor Courgeon
Biography and Filmography
Payal Kapadia is a Mumbai-based filmmaker and artist. She studied Film Direction at the Film & Television Institute of India. Her short films “Afternoon Clouds” (2017) and “And What Is The Summer Saying” (2018) premiered respectively at the Cinéfondation and the Berlinale. She is a Berlinale Talents alumna and participated to the Cinéfondation - Résidence du Festival de Cannes in 2019. Her first feature, “A Night Of Knowing Nothing”, was part of the 2021 Director's Fortnight selection. She’s currently looking for funding for her next project, “All We Imagine As Light”, for which she received support from Ciclic and Hubert Bals Fund.
2021 - A NIGHT OF KNOWING NOTHING - Payal Kapadia - Director, Screenwriter
2018 - AND WHAT IS THE SUMMER SAYING (Short) - Payal Kapadia - Director
2017 - AFTERNOON CLOUDS (Short) - Payal Kapadia - Director, Screenwriter
2015 - THE LAST MANGO BEFORE THE MONSOON (Short) - Payal Kapadia - Director
2013 - WATERMELON, FISH AND HALF GHOST (Short) - Payal Kapadia - Director, Screenwriter
2012 - CASSANDRA’S GIFT (Short) - Payal Kapadia - Director
by Payal Kapadia
Payal Kapadia is a Mumbai-based filmmaker and artist. She studied Film Direction at the Film & Television Institute of India. Her short films “Afternoon Clouds” (2017) and “And What Is The Summer Saying” (2018) premiered respectively at the Cinéfondation and the Berlinale. She is a Berlinale Talents alumna and participated to the Cinéfondation - Résidence du Festival de Cannes in 2019. Her first feature, “A Night Of Knowing Nothing”, was part of the 2021 Director's Fortnight selection. She’s currently looking for funding for her next project, “All We Imagine As Light”, for which she received support from Ciclic and Hubert Bals Fund.
2021 - A NIGHT OF KNOWING NOTHING - Payal Kapadia - Director, Screenwriter
2018 - AND WHAT IS THE SUMMER SAYING (Short) - Payal Kapadia - Director
2017 - AFTERNOON CLOUDS (Short) - Payal Kapadia - Director, Screenwriter
2015 - THE LAST MANGO BEFORE THE MONSOON (Short) - Payal Kapadia - Director
2013 - WATERMELON, FISH AND HALF GHOST (Short) - Payal Kapadia - Director, Screenwriter
2012 - CASSANDRA’S GIFT (Short) - Payal Kapadia - Director