Venice Winner 'Songs of Forgotten Trees' Faces Censor Troubles

Indian filmmaker Anuparna Roy says her debut feature Songs of Forgotten Trees has been blocked by India’s Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC), preventing its release in the country despite its success at the Venice Film Festival.

Roy, whose film won the Orizzonti Award for Best Director at Venice in 2025, told AFP in Venice this week that representatives of the film’s team had recently been informed that the film was considered a threat to society.

“A few days back, they called us and they said that it's a ‘threat to society’. Can you believe that Songs of Forgotten Trees is a threat to society?” Roy told AFP.

“I am terribly upset about the censorship,” she added. “I represented the country here, I won for the country.”

Songs of Forgotten Trees follows two migrant women who share an apartment in Mumbai. Thooya is an aspiring actress who works part-time as a sex worker, while Swetha is a corporate employee. The film explores their growing bond and the pressures surrounding their lives.

The CBFC vets films for release in India and can require cuts and edits. AFP reported that the board’s decision has effectively blocked distribution of Roy’s debut feature in her home country.

The setback comes as Roy returns to Venice with her second feature, Lovers in the Blue Night, which premiered in the Orizzonti section on Friday. The film follows Bangladeshi migrants in Mumbai as they navigate poverty, grief, identity and sexuality.

Roy told AFP that independent filmmakers face limited space in India, citing both the dominance of mass-market Bollywood cinema and political pressure.

“It’s good for those who can praise the government and make a propaganda film. I am not somebody who can do that,” she said, according to AFP.

Roy also told AFP that she wondered whether her public statements supporting Palestinian rights might have contributed to her difficulties with the film board.

The director, who moved to Mumbai after working in a New Delhi call centre, said the city has become a major source of inspiration for her filmmaking.