New Delhi:A year after she became the first Indian filmmaker to win the Best Director Award in the Orizzonti section at the Venice International Film Festival, Anuparna Roy is returning to the cinema gala with the selection of her new film "Lovers In The Blue Light".
Like her debut film "Songs of Forgotten Trees", Roy's second feature will also compete in the Orizzonti segment. The filmmaker has once again set the story in Mumbai and around migrant experiences.
Orizzonti Competition is the second most important competition segment at the festival after Spotlight.
The competition titles were announced on Thursday by artistic director Alberto Barbera and Pietrangelo Buttafuoco, president of the Biennale di Venezia, at a press conference in Venice.
Produced by Vikas Kumar, Sharib Khan, Bibhanshu Rai and Romil Modi, who also backed "Songs Of Forgotten Trees", the film is executive produced by Neeraj Churi and co-produced by Navin Shetty. The film is produced by Khan & Kumar Media in association with Ammi Media.
"I'm overwhelmed with gratitude that 'Lovers in the Blue Night' is heading to Venice. Returning to the Orizzonti Competition after 'Songs of Forgotten Trees' last year is both humbling and deeply emotional," the director said in a statement, while thanking her producers for their "unwavering trust" in both of her movies.
"This recognition belongs to the entire team who poured their hearts into the film, and I hope it encourages more honest, fearless, and deeply human stories to find their audience," Roy added.
Set against Mumbai's restless nights, "Lovers In The Blue Night" follows four migrants—a closeted husband, his lonely wife who works in a bar, a small-time thief and a pimp—whose lives intersect through unexpected love, survival and forbidden desire. Told in Hindi with Sylheti Bengali and Marathi, the film explores longing, migration, identity and the search for belonging in a city that leaves little room for vulnerability, according to a release here.
The film stars an ensemble cast including Neelima Sharma, Pritam Pilania, Bhushan Shimpi, Jatin Sarin, Kajal Keshav and Vinod Suryavanshi.
Roy has become one of the very few Indian filmmakers to have two consecutive features premiere in competition at Venice.
Her new film will compete with 17 other titles that include names such as "La Ragazza con la Leica", "The Burning Giants", "What Belongs to Others", "Falling House", "The Difficult Bride" and "Until the Day Ends", among others.
Kumar, co-founder of production company Khan & Kumar Media, said they have always believed that powerful stories deserve to travel beyond borders.
"Seeing 'Lovers in the Blue Night' invited to the Orizzonti Competition at Venice, following 'Songs of Forgotten Trees' last year is an incredibly humbling moment for us. "For an independent filmmaker to return to Venice with a second consecutive feature is an extraordinary achievement, and we couldn't be more thrilled to support Anuparna's journey."
In her director's statement, Roy described her new film as a story drawn from her own life as a migrant, watching working-class lives slowly dissolve into the restless pulse of the city.
"It is about people who dare to desire in a world that punishes feelings—a gay man bound by duty, a woman yearning to be seen, and a thief craving acceptance. As a filmmaker, I have always been drawn to stories that are deeply personal and political," she said.
Roy, who hails from Narayanpur, Purulia, West Bengal, is a graduate in English Literature from Kulti College.
She made her feature debut with "Songs Of Forgotten Trees", a story about two migrant women -- an aspiring actor and a corporate worker -- who despite coming from different worlds discover a silent empathy for each other.
It premiered in the Orizzonti section of the 82nd Venice International Film Festival, where she won the Best Director Award, becoming the first Indian filmmaker to receive the honour.
"Songs of Forgotten Trees" went on screen at major international festivals including the BFI London Film Festival, Hong Kong Asian Film Festival, Cork International Film Festival and Lisboa Film Festival, earning accolades including the FIPRESCI Award for Best Screenplay and the Audience Award at Cork.