Debutant filmmaker Anuparna Roy won the Orizzonti Award for Best Director at the Venice Film Festival for her film Songs of Forgotten Trees. The film, backed by Anurag Kashyap, marks a historic achievement for Roy as it was the only Indian film selected in prestigious category
Anuparna Roy at Venice Film Festival
Filmmaker Anuparna Roy has scripted history by winning the Orizzonti Award for Best Director at the prestigious 82nd Venice Film Festival for her feature debut Songs of Forgotten Trees, which is presented by Anurag Kashyap. It is the only Indian film that got selected in the esteemed Orizzonti section this year— bowled over the audience and jury as it won the coveted title for Roy, who took to the stage, visibly emotional and teary eyed and dedicated the award to the country.
Anuparna Roy on win
Reacting to the huge win, director Anuparna Roy shared from Venice, "This film is a tribute to every woman who’s ever been silenced, overlooked, or underestimated. May this win inspire more voices, more stories, and more power for women in cinema and beyond."
In her acceptance speech, Anuparna said, “This moment is surreal. I am standing here at a great festival like Venice… I want my begin by thanking the jury, the audience, and the director of the festival. I want to thank my producer who said yes to the film which did not fit into the boxes stereotype films… Anurag Kashyap believed in the film from the beginning. I want to thank my incredible cast- beautiful Naaz Shaikh, Sumi Baghel- this award is yours.”
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About the film
Starring Naaz Shaikh and Sumi Baghel, 'Songs of Forgotten Trees' is produced by Bibhanshu Rai, Romil Modi and Ranjan Singh. According to the official synopsis, the film follows the story of Thooya, a migrant and aspiring actress, who survives the city by leveraging beauty and wit, occasionally trading intimacy for opportunity.
When she sublets her sugar daddy’s upscale apartment to Swetha, a fellow migrant working a corporate job, the two women—seemingly from different worlds— begin to share more than just a space. Amid the relentless pulse of Mumbai, they discover a silent empathy. But as personal histories, desires, and wounds resurface, their delicate connection is tested. What follows is not a rupture, but a strange and tender unfolding—of selfhood, of survival, of unexpected kinship.
The Orizzonti section has been a launchpad for innovative storytelling that has previously honoured films like Chaitanya Tamhane's Court and Karan Tejpal's Stolen.
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