A year after she gained widespread recognition for her work in All We Imagine As Light, which won the festival's prestigious Grand Prix award, Chhaya Kadam makes her return.
But this time, it's even more special.
Chhaya's directorial debut Snow Flower, a Marathi film, will premiere at Cannes.
Payal Kapadia, who directed All We Imagine As Light, is a member of this year's Cannes jury.
Snow Flower tells the story of a girl named Pari, who finds herself torn between two cultures, India and Russia.
The movie also follows Bablya, a young man who dreams of joining a Dashavtaar theatre group traveling to Russia, and his family's subsequent journey to Russia to bring Pari back after his death.
'This is the first day of Cannes Film Festival in 2025. It was my first day in Cannes on this same day last year. At that time, I was acting like a newbie. Some things put too much pressure. But I enjoyed that too,' Chhaya, looking pretty in a pink sari from Suta Bombay, writes.
'This year, this place -- this city and the people we meet here -- everything feels like our own. It feels like an old familiarity with the streets here -- with the colorfully dressed people here. The family created by last year's Cannes festival felt even more extended this year. Now the curiosity is about today's screening of my film Snow Flower,' Chhaya adds.
Photographs curated by Satish Bodas/Rediff
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