Venice Film Festival 2025: Anuparna Roy makes historical past with Orizzonti Best Director win for Songs of Forgotten Trees

Debutant filmmaker Anuparna Roy has made historical past on the 82nd Venice Film Festival, changing into the primary Indian girl to win the celebrated Orizzonti Award for Best Director. Her function Songs of Forgotten Trees, offered by Anurag Kashyap, was celebrated within the worldwide competitors that spotlights daring voices and recent storytelling.

The award was introduced by jury president Julia Ducournau, with Roy taking the stage in a white saree to a standing ovation. In an emotional acceptance speech, she described the second as “surreal” and credited her solid, crew, and Kashyap for believing in a narrative that resisted method. She devoted the honour to her hometown and nation, whereas additionally utilizing the platform to name consideration to the continuing disaster in Palestine, declaring, “Every youngster deserves peace, freedom and liberation, and Palestine isn’t any exception.”

Songs of Forgotten Trees follows Thooya, a migrant and aspiring actress in Mumbai, whose likelihood reference to Swetha, a company skilled, sparks an intimate exploration of survival, vulnerability, and kinship within the metropolis’s relentless panorama. Featuring Naaz Shaikh and Sumi Baghel in main roles, the movie was co-produced by Bibhanshu Rai, Romil Modi, and Ranjan Singh.

The undertaking was removed from simple to deliver to life. “We went via challenges, powerful days, and moments of doubt. But Anuparna by no means gave up—her hearth saved us going,” Rai mentioned. Modi added that championing girls filmmakers like Roy was “not only a alternative, however a duty,” noting that their tales carry uncommon honesty and energy.

Kashyap, who supported the undertaking as a presenter, praised Roy for her conviction. “She stayed true to her first pitch,” Singh echoed. “This win is proof that if you inform tales you really imagine in, they resonate universally.”

The Orizzonti part, recognized for spotlighting daring new cinema, has beforehand launched acclaimed Indian works like Chaitanya Tamhane’s Court and Karan Tejpal’s Stolen. With this recognition, Roy joins that lineage, firmly establishing herself as a filmmaker to observe.