Venice: Filmmaker Anuparna Roy created history at the 82nd edition of the Venice Film Festival, winning the Best Director in the Orizzonti Competition for her film ‘Songs of Forgotten Trees’.
Presented by Anurag Kashyap, Anuparna Roy’s ‘Songs of Forgotten Trees’ became the only Indian title in Venice’s Orizzonti section. It revolves around two migrant women in Mumbai as they navigate loneliness, survival, 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. Roy, dressed in a white saree, accepted the honour and called the moment “surreal,” thanking the jury, her producers, her cast, and filmmaker Anurag Kashyap.
Other Competition titles receiving high praise included fest opener, La Grazia (Mubi) from Paolo Sorrentino and starring longtime collaborator Toni Servillo; Kathryn Bigelow’s return with ensemble pic A House of Dynamite (Netflix); Dwayne Johnson/Emily Blunt-starrer The Smashing Machine (A24) from Benny Safdie; Mona Fastvold’s The Testament of Ann Lee, starring Amanda Seyfried; Guillermo Del Toro’s Frankenstein (Netflix) led by Oscar Isaac and Jacob Elordi; Yorgos Lanthimos’ Bugonia (Focus) with Emma Stone and Jesse Plemons; Park Chan-wook’s No Other Choice, among others as reported by Deadline.
Check out the complete list.
Golden Lion
Father Mother Sister Brother, dir: Jim Jarmusch
Silver Lion Grand Jury Prize
The Voice of Hind Rajab
Silver Lion Best Director
Benny Safdie, The Smashing Machine
Special Jury Prize
Sotte le Nuvole; dir: Gianfranco Rosi
Best Screenplay
Valerie Donzelli, Gilles Marchand; A Pied d’oeuvre
Best Actor
Toni Servillo, La Grazia
Best Actress
Xin Zhilei, The Sun Rises on Un All
Marcello Mastroianni Award for Best New Young Actor or Actress
Luna Wedler, Silent Friend
Lion of the Future – Luigi De Laurentiis Award for a Debut Film
Short Summer, dir: Nastia Korkia
HORIZONS
Best Film
En El Camino, dir: David Pablos
Best Director
Anuparna Roy, Songs of Forgotten Trees
Special Jury Prize
Lost Land, dir: Akio Fujimoto
Best Actor
Giacomo Covi, A Year of School
Best Actress
Benedetta Porcaroli, The Kidnapping of Arabella
Best Screenplay
Ana Cristina Barragan, Hiedra
Best Short Film
Without Kelly, dir: Lovisa Siren
VENICE CLASSICS
Best Documentary On Cinema
Mata Hari, dirs: Joe Beshenkovsky, James A. Smith
Best Restored Film
Bashu, The Little Stranger, dir: Bahram Beyzaie
VENICE IMMERSIVE
Grand Prize
The Clouds are Two Thousand Meters Up, dir: Singing Chen
Special Jury Prize
Less Than 5g of Saffron, dir: Negar Motevalymeidanshah
Achievement Prize
A Long Goodbye, dirs: Kate Voet, Victor Maes, as reported by Deadline.
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