 "Debutant filmmaker Anuparna Roy scripts history by winning Orizzonti Award for Best Director for Anurag Kashyap-backed 'Songs of Forgotten Trees' 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.
‘ Songs of Forgotten Trees ’—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.
Starring Naaz Shaikh and Sumi Baghel, ‘Songs of Forgotten Trees’ is produced by Bibhanshu Rai, Romil Modi and Ranjan Singh and follows the story of two women and how their lives get intertwined in Mumbai.
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.”
Beaming with pride over the honour, Bibhanshu Rai said, “Making this film was never easy. We went through challenges, tough days, and moments of doubt. But we held on, because this story had to be told. I knew Anuparna would never give up. She has that fire and it kept all of us going.”
Stating that supporting women like Anuparna isn’t “just a choice, but a responsibility,” producer Romil Modi said, “Their stories hold so much strength, honesty, and heart; far more compelling than the endless war-driven tales we see today. This film is my way of standing by her, and by every woman whose voice deserves to be heard.”
Ranjan Singh of Flip Films said Anuparna “stayed true to her first pitch” of the human drama and made the film she wanted to, adding, “This win is the best testament that if one tells stories that they believe in truly, they will resonate with everyone across the world.”
According to the official synopsis, ‘Songs of Forgotten Trees’, co-produced by Navin Shetty and Anuparna Roy, 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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