Parallax has acquired international sales rights to Anuparna Roy’s “Lovers in the Blue Night,” which will have its world premiere in the Horizons competition at the Venice Film Festival.

The film brings Roy back to the Lido one year after she became the first Indian filmmaker to win the Horizons best director prize, an honor she took for her debut feature, “Songs of Forgotten Trees.”

Set amid Mumbai’s restless nightlife, “Lovers in the Blue Night” centers on four migrants whose lives intertwine: a husband hiding his sexuality, his lonely wife who works in a bar, a petty criminal and a man who trades in sex work. Their paths converge through unlikely romance, hidden longing and a shared fight to survive and belong.

“We were deeply impressed by the film’s delicate and nuanced portrayal of human emotions,” said Parallax’s Liuying Cao. “Rather than relying on dramatic gestures, it finds remarkable strength in subtle moments, which stayed with us long after the screening. We are also very excited by Anuparna Roy’s distinct directorial voice. We sincerely hope to accompany her and her future works on their international journey, beginning with ‘Lovers in the Blue Night.’”

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The filmmaker pulled off a coup in heading back to Venice with her second film, a year after winning Best Director in Orizzonti for Songs of Forgotten Trees.

A year after she became the first Indian filmmaker to win the Best Director Award at the Venice International Film Festival in the Orizzonti Competition with Songs of Forgotten Trees, Anuparna Roy is returning to the fest wih her sophomore, Lovers In The Blue Night. The new film is going to premiere in the same strand. Selected at upcoming 83rd edition, Roy emerges one of the very few Indian filmmakers to have two consecutive features premiere in competition at Venice.

The official synopsis for the film reads: 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.

Lovers In The Blue Night features an ensemble cast including Neelima Sharma, Pritam Pilania, Bhushan Shimpi, Jatin Sarin, Kajal Keshav, and Vinod Suryavanshi.The film is shot by Debjit Samanta, with Ketul Thakkar attached as editor and Nishant Ramtake composing the original score. Completing the technical team are production designer Karan Gupta, costume designer Muskan Mittal, makeup artist Bashir Shaikh, and Arka Dey handling sound recording, design, and mixing.

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Roy had won the Best Director Award in the Orizzonti section at the Venice International Film Festival last year.

A year after becoming the first Indian filmmaker to win the Best Director Award in the Orizzonti section at the Venice International Film Festival, director Anuparna Roy is set to return to the prestigious cinema gala with her sophomore feature Lovers In The Blue Night.

Like her debut feature Songs Of Forgotten Trees, Roy’s latest film has been selected for the Orizzonti Competition, the festival’s second-most prestigious competition section after Spotlight.

A year after becoming the first Indian filmmaker to win the Best Director Award in the Orizzonti section at the Venice International Film Festival, director Anuparna Roy is set to return to the prestigious cinema gala with her sophomore feature Lovers In The Blue Night.

Like her debut feature Songs Of Forgotten Trees, Roy’s latest film has been selected for the Orizzonti Competition, the festival’s second-most prestigious competition section after Spotlight.

The competition lineup was unveiled on Thursday by Venice artistic director Alberto Barbera and Biennale di Venezia president Pietrangelo Buttafuoco at a press conference in Venice.

Set once again in Mumbai and centred on migrant experiences, Lovers In The Blue Night is produced by Vikas Kumar, Sharib Khan, Bibhanshu Rai and Romil Modi, who also backed Roy’s debut feature. The film is executive produced by Neeraj Churi and co-produced by Navin Shetty. It is produced by Khan & Kumar Media in association with Ammi Media.

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A year after winning the Venice International Film Festival’s Orizzonti Best Director award for her debut Songs Of Forgotten Trees, filmmaker Anuparna Roy’s sophomore feature has been selected for the festival’s competition section.

Writer-director Anuparna Roy’s relationship with the Venice International Film Festival is proving to be more than a one-off success. A year after winning the Best Director award in the Orizzonti section for her debut feature Songs Of Forgotten Trees last year, the filmmaker will return to the festival with her sophomore outing, Lovers In The Blue Night, which has been selected for the same competitive section.

Set against the backdrop of Mumbai’s restless nights, Lovers In The Blue Night follows the intertwined lives of four migrants—a closeted husband, his lonely wife who works at a bar, a small-time thief and a pimp—whose paths cross through unexpected love, survival and forbidden desire. 

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New Delhi, Jul 23 (PTI) A year after she became the first Indian filmmaker to win the Best Director Award at the Venice International Film Festival, Anuparna Roy is returning to the cinema gala with the Orizzonti selection of her film “Lovers In The Blue Light”.

Like her debut film “Songs of Forgotten Trees”, her second feature is also set in Mumbai. It is backed by Vikas Kumar, Sharib Khan, Bibhanshu Rai and Romil Modi. Orizzonti Competition is second most important competition segment at the festival after Spotlight.

Roy’s film will compete with 14 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. PTI BK BK BK

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A year after making history as the first Indian filmmaker to win the Best Director Award in the Orizzonti section at the 82nd Venice International Film Festival for her debut feature Songs of Forgotten Trees, filmmaker Anuparna Roy is returning to the Lido with her second feature, Lovers in the Blue Night.

Selected for the Orizzonti Competition at the upcoming 83rd edition, Roy becomes one of the very few Indian filmmakers to have two consecutive features premiere in competition at Venice, which marks a major milestone for independent Indian cinema.

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. The film features an ensemble cast including Neelima Sharma, Pritam Pilania, Bhushan Shimpi, Jatin Sarin, Kajal Keshav, and Vinod Suryavanshi.

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