Indian filmmaker Anuparna Roy made history at the 82nd Venice Film Festival by winning the Best Director award in the prestigious Orizzonti Competition for her film Songs of Forgotten Trees.
Presented by Anurag Kashyap, the film was the only Indian entry in the Orizzonti section. It tells the story of two migrant women in Mumbai as they confront isolation, survival struggles, and fleeting moments of connection.
The award was announced by French filmmaker Julia Ducournau, president of the Orizzonti jury, during the festival’s closing ceremony on Saturday. Dressed in a white saree, Roy described the honour as “surreal,” thanking the jury, her cast, producers, and Kashyap for their support.
This year’s festival also spotlighted acclaimed works such as Paolo Sorrentino’s La Grazia (Mubi), Kathryn Bigelow’s A House of Dynamite (Netflix), Benny Safdie’s The Smashing Machine (A24) starring Dwayne Johnson and Emily Blunt, Guillermo Del Toro’s Frankenstein (Netflix), and Yorgos Lanthimos’ Bugonia (Focus) with Emma Stone and Jesse Plemons, among others.
Other top honours included Jim Jarmusch’s Father Mother Sister Brother winning the Golden Lion, while The Voice of Hind Rajab took the Silver Lion Grand Jury Prize. Benny Safdie won the Silver Lion for Best Director in the main competition for The Smashing Machine.
In the Orizzonti section, alongside Roy’s victory, David Pablos’ En El Camino was named Best Film, and Akio Fujimoto’s Lost Land received the Special Jury Prize. Benedetta Porcaroli (The Kidnapping of Arabella) and Giacomo Covi (A Year of School) won Best Actress and Best Actor respectively.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi and several Indian film industry figures are expected to extend congratulations to Roy for bringing the honour to Indian cinema.
