Brady Corbet on beating Payal Kapadia at Golden Globes: ‘She’s extraordinary!’

Brady Corbet heads into the Academy Awards with strong momentum after winning Best Director at the Golden Globes for The Brutalist. He edged out India’s Payal Kapadia, nominated for All We Imagine As Light. Corbet and his wife, co-writer Mona Fastvold, praised Kapadia and Indian cinema, calling her win well-deserved.

“Payal is extraordinary,” Corbet said. “India produces so much cinema, yet it remains underrepresented at global festivals. That needs to change.” Mona added, “It feels like an Indian wave is rising, similar to what happened in Mexico.”

Both The Brutalist and Kapadia’s film explore migration. While hers follows Indian migrants in Mumbai, The Brutalist warns against the American dream’s harsh realities. “We sell this dream to 99% of people it doesn’t work for,” Corbet noted. The film’s protagonist, played by Adrien Brody, becomes a renowned architect but ages into a shell of himself.

Corbet described filmmaking as an exhausting yet rewarding process. “It’s like pruning a tree for years. The greatest moment was finally finishing it.” Mona agreed, saying, “It’s like building a structure—gathering a crew and executing a vision.”

With a 3-hour-35-minute runtime, The Brutalist includes an intermission, a rare choice in Hollywood. Corbet dismissed making it a TV series, saying, “Television isn’t a director’s medium. Too many voices interfere.”

The film introduces Felicity Jones’ character late, inspired by Alfred Hitchcock’s unconventional storytelling. “Movies used to take bigger risks,” Corbet said. Mona added, “Her presence is felt from the start through letters and longing.”

Corbet and Fastvold have worked together on multiple projects, balancing creative roles. “We support each other while keeping egos in check,” Mona said. Corbet, smiling, concluded, “The only way out is through.”