‘The win goes to you guys’: Anuparna Roy dedicates ‘Lovers in the Blue Night’ Venice win to indie filmmakers

Filmmaker Anuparna Roy has described her second consecutive award at the Venice International Film Festival as 'surreal' and said she and her team are still struggling to process the achievement.

Roy’s ‘Lovers in the Blue Night’ won the NETPAC Award for Best Asian Film at the 83rd Venice International Film Festival, where the film competed in the Orizzonti section.

The award comes a year after Roy won the Orizzonti Award for Best Director for her debut feature ‘Songs of Forgotten Trees’ at the 82nd Venice festival.

Reacting to the win in a telephonic interaction with Mathrubhumi, Roy said she had never imagined that she would return to Venice with another film and leave with another award.

'Winning back-to-back at Venice is definitely, I mean, we never thought of it. It feels surreal, it feels like a dream. So far, the whole team is not ready to process it,' she said.

Roy said returning to Venice with a second film was itself a major achievement for the team, while being selected for the NETPAC jury recognition and eventually winning the award made the moment even more significant.

'However, coming back to Venice with two of our films is huge. I mean, and then getting selected for NetPAC Jury was something huge. And then winning the award, I mean, it's like adding on,' she said.

For Roy, the award also represents the culmination of an intense effort by the entire team behind ‘Lovers in the Blue Night’. She said everyone involved had dreamed of receiving recognition at Venice and had continued working despite the challenges during production.

'Of course, I mean, the whole team, not only me, the whole team dreamt of receiving an award from Venice itself. Because we really worked hard, the whole team. We never gave up, even during the time of shooting; no matter what the situation was,' Roy said.

The filmmaker revealed that the team often worked for 15 to 17 hours a day while making the film, highlighting the contribution of members across departments.

'We worked for like, we really worked for 15, 16, 17 good hours each day. Including my editor, who is 22 years old. Including my DA, including my AD, everybody,' she said.

The recognition marks another major milestone in Roy’s rapidly developing international career. Her first feature, ‘Songs of Forgotten Trees’, won her the Orizzonti Award for Best Director in 2025. With ‘Lovers in the Blue Night’, she returned to Venice a year later and secured another major honour.

The director also spoke about the film’s upcoming Asian premiere at the Busan International Film Festival, describing the festival as a long-standing dream.

'Going to Busan was always a dream because while I started filming my very first short film, Busan was one of the festivals I aimed for,' Roy said.

She recalled that one of her early short films was not selected for Busan, an experience that stayed with her and eventually made the festival a personal goal.

The Asian premiere of ‘Lovers in the Blue Night’ at Busan will therefore be another significant moment for Roy, who said she was looking forward to watching films, meeting new independent filmmakers and learning from Korean filmmakers. Roy had previously described Busan as an important platform for independent filmmakers.

Reflecting on the response to ‘Lovers in the Blue Night’ in Venice, Roy also recalled the standing ovation the film received.

'We received a longer 7-8 minute of standing ovation. This is the second time standing ovation in my film I'm receiving and I'm so fucking happy,' she said.

Roy then dedicated the achievement to independent filmmakers, crediting the community around her with giving her the courage to make the film.

'I just want to send a message to all the indie filmmakers out there that the win goes to you guys because every time I work in Bombay, every time I work around these indie filmmakers, I get a lot of courage,' she said.

'The courage and the struggle of all the indie filmmakers out there, I made a film out of it. And we will definitely can do it all together. Cheers to cinema, long live cinema,' she added.

Set on the margins of Mumbai, ‘Lovers in the Blue Night’ follows the intersecting lives of four migrants navigating loneliness, desire, survival and love. The film was the only Indian feature in competition at this year’s Venice festival, and the NETPAC jury praised its sensitive portrayal of marginalised lives and its exploration of displacement, urban survival, hidden desire, gender, poverty and class.

For Roy, the Venice win thus marks not only another major festival honour but also the continuation of a remarkable two-year journey, from winning Best Director for her debut feature in 2025 to returning with her second film and winning the NETPAC Award in 2026.