Director Payal Kapadia’s poetic drama All We Imagine As Light and Shahana Goswami starrer Santosh missed out on securing an Oscar nomination at the 97th Academy Awards. Despite being a strong contender for the Best International Feature Film category, the film did not make it to the final list. On the other hand, Priyanka Chopra’s Anuja secures a spot.
Anuja secures a spot; All We Imagine As Light & Santosh miss Oscar 2025 nominations
The nominations for the 97th Academy Awards were announced on January 23, 2025, by actors Bowen Yang and Rachel Sennott, who revealed nominees across various categories, celebrating cinematic excellence from the past year. Among the top five contenders for Best International Feature Film are Flow, Emilia Perez, The Seed of a Sacred Fig, I’m Still Here, and Kneecap.
All We Imagine As Light previously garnered significant acclaim, earning Payal Kapadia the prestigious Grand Prix at the 2024 Cannes Film Festival. This achievement marked a historic moment, ending a 30-year drought for Indian films in the official competition section at Cannes. Following in the footsteps of the Oscar-winning documentary short The Elephant Whisperers, Anuja continues Netflix’s tradition of championing compelling stories from India on the global stage.
Check out the complete list of nominations here:
Best Picture
Anora
The Brutalist
A Complete Unknown
Conclave
Dune: Part Two
Emilia Pérez
I’m Still Here
Nickel Boys
The Substance
Wicked
Best Director
Jacques Audiard (Emilia Pérez)
Sean Baker (Anora)
Brady Corbet (The Brutalist)
Coralie Fargeat (The Substance)
James Mangold (A Complete Unknown)
Best Actor
Adrien Brody (The Brutalist)
Timothée Chalamet (A Complete Unknown)
Colman Domingo (Sing Sing)
Ralph Fiennes (Conclave)
Sebastian Stan (The Apprentice)
Best Actress
Cynthia Erivo (Wicked)
Karla Sofía Gascón (Emilia Pérez)
Mikey Madison (Anora)
Demi Moore (The Substance)
Fernanda Torres (I’m Still Here)
Best Supporting Actor
Yura Borisov (Anora)
Kieran Culkin (A Real Pain)
Edward Norton (A Complete Unknown)
Guy Pearce (The Brutalist)
Jeremy Strong (The Apprentice)
Best Supporting Actress
Monica Barbaro (A Complete Unknown)
Ariana Grande (Wicked)
Felicity Jones (The Brutalist)
Isabella Rossellini (Conclave)
Zoe Saldaña (Emilia Pérez)
Original Screenplay
Anora
The Brutalist
A Real Pain
September 5
The Substance
Adapted Screenplay
Conclave
A Complete Unknown
Emilia Pérez
Nickel Boys
Sing Sing
Animated Feature
Flow
Inside Out 2
Memoir of a Snail
Wallace and Gromit: Vengeance Most Fowl
The Wild Robot
Production Design
The Brutalist
Conclave
Dune: Part Two
Nosferatu
Wicked
Costume Design
A Complete Unknown
Conclave
Gladiator II
Nosferatu
Wicked
Cinematography
The Brutalist
Dune: Part Two
Emilia Pérez
Maria
Nosferatu
Editing
Anora
The Brutalist
Conclave
Emilia Pérez
Wicked
Makeup and Hairstyling
A Different Man
Emilia Pérez
Nosferatu
The Substance
Wicked
Sound
A Complete Unknown
Dune: Part Two
Emilia Pérez
Wicked
The Wild Robot
Visual Effects
Alien: Romulus
Better Man
Dune: Part Two
Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes
Wicked
Original Score
The Brutalist
Conclave
Emilia Pérez
Wicked
The Wild Robot
Original Song
El Mal (Emilia Pérez)
The Journey (The Six Triple Eight)
Like A Bird (Sing Sing)
Mi Camino (Emilia Pérez)
Never Too Late (Elton John: Never Too Late)
International Feature
I’m Still Here (Brazil)
The Girl With the Needle (Denmark)
Emilia Pérez (France)
The Seed of the Sacred Fig (Germany)
Flow (Latvia)
Animated Short
Beautiful Men
In the Shadow of the Cypress
Magic Candies
Wander to Wonder
Yuck!
Documentary Short
Death by Numbers
I Am Ready, Warden
Incident
Instruments of a Beating Heart
The Only Girl in the Orchestra
Live-Action Short
A Lien
Anuja
I’m Not a Robot
The Last Ranger
The Man Who Could Not Remain Silent
This year’s nominations highlight a diverse array of talent and stories, making the 2025 Oscars one of the most exciting editions yet. Fans eagerly await the winners, who will be revealed at the grand ceremony later this year.
In addition to its Cannes success, the film received recognition at the EE BAFTA Film Awards with a nomination in the Best Film Not in the English Language category. This achievement highlights the growing global presence of Indian cinema.
While All We Imagine As Light was longlisted in three major categories—Best Director, Best Original Screenplay, and Best Film Not in the English Language—it ultimately secured only the latter nomination. This places it in direct competition with celebrated films like Emilia Perez and The Seed of a Sacred Fig. Unfortunately, Kapadia did not receive nominations for Best Director or Best Original Screenplay.