Payal Kapadia

“One of my favorite films is Miloš Forman’s Loves of a Blonde. It’s a remarkable film, which is also funny, and I think everybody should watch it.”

“So one should have Ray in one’s collection of films. And Charulata is a film that taught me a lot about cinema and scene construction and... It’s just a really good film.”

“Paris Is Burning is a film by Jennie Livingston which is, I think, one of the greatest nonfiction films ever made. It’s a film that I can go back to at different points in my life, and it’s just a film about accepting and community, and it’s such a wonderful, wonderful film and it’s shot so well. I watched this for the first time when we did, like, a film Festival in my film school, when we were protesting and it was shown in one of the protest screenings.”

“Sans Soleil is a film that I really love very much, of Chris Marker. It’s a film that liberated me a lot from what is fiction and what is nonfiction, and it’s a film that you can keep watching and gain something from every time.”

“This is a box set of Pasolini, and... All of them are really good, and I love very much Arabian Nights. It was a Pasolini film that I watched when I was a student, and it’s a gift that keeps giving.”

“Louis Malle’s boxset also. Phantom India is a film that I... I discovered when I had gone for my admission at the film school. They showed us this film and they told us to, like, comment on it. It’s so contemporary, even though it’s so... From such a long time ago. I think it’s a must-watch for everyone.”

“Okay, so this is the Martin Scorsese World Cinema Project. Two films that I absolutely love. One is Mysterious Object at Noon. I... When I was a student, I did, like, a thesis project and I studied this film to every minor frame. And it’s really a... It’s really a fantastic film. And also Taipei Story of Edward Yang, which is a city film that I really love a lot. So I’m really happy to have this collection of films.”