Indian filmmaker Anuparna Roy will return to the Venice International Film Festival just a year after making history with her debut feature, as her second film, Lovers in the Blue Night, has been selected for the Spotlight section of the festival’s 83rd edition.
Roy emerged as one of the breakout voices of Venice in 2025 when her debut, Songs of Forgotten Trees, premiered in the Orizzonti (Horizons) competition. She went on to become the first Indian filmmaker to win the Best Director award in the section, marking a landmark moment for Indian independent cinema.
Set on the margins of Mumbai, Lovers in the Blue Night follows four migrants—a gay husband, his wife who works in a bar, a thief and a pimp—whose lives become intertwined through love, survival and the search for belonging. Written and directed by Roy, the film continues her interest in characters living at the edges of society and explores questions of identity, intimacy and human connection.
Roy, who hails from Purulia in West Bengal, studied English literature before working as an IT sales executive. She later left the corporate world to pursue filmmaking, directing the short film Run to the River in 2023 before making her acclaimed feature debut with Songs of Forgotten Trees.
Her debut centred on two migrant women in Mumbai whose unexpected friendship grows into a profound emotional bond as they navigate loneliness, precarious work and life in an unforgiving city. The film was widely praised for its restrained storytelling and compassionate portrayal of women on the margins, and was acquired for international sales by Celluloid Dreams following its Venice premiere.
Roy’s return to Venice with her sophomore feature consolidates her position as one of the most promising new voices in Indian cinema. While India does not have a film in the festival’s main Competition this year, Lovers in the Blue Night ensures that an Indian filmmaker remains part of the official selection for the second consecutive year.
The 83rd Venice International Film Festival will run from 2 to 12 September.
