Kolkata, Sep 14: Bengal-born independent filmmaker Anuparna Roy’s ‘Lovers in the Blue Night’ has won the NETPAC Award for Best Asian Film at the Venice Film Festival.
Set against the margins of Mumbai, the movie follows four migrant workers whose lives intersect as they deal with loneliness, desire, survival, and love.
In pursuit of hope and chasing a dream in a metro city, these migrant characters speak in the languages of Hindi, Sylheti, and Marathi.
Roy told reporters after receiving the honour that the recognition was particularly meaningful as the film emerged from a deeply personal space and focused on people whose lives are often pushed to the margins.
“I wanted to approach them with honesty. To receive this recognition at Venice, a year after my debut was awarded here, is deeply moving,” she said.
Roy also shared the news on her social media handle, describing the moment as “a little surreal, a lot of gratitude” and recalling a seven-minute standing ovation for the film.
The film was premiered in the Orizzonti (Horizons) section on September 11, 2026.
This marks Anuparna Roy’s second consecutive success at Venice. In 2025, she won the Best Director crown for her debut film ‘Songs of Forgotten Tree’ at the same film festival.
The NETPAC (Network for the Promotion of Asian Cinema) jury praised ‘Lovers in the Blue Night’ for its sensitive and delicate portrayal of marginalized lives.
The film stars Neelima Sharma, Pritam Pilania, Kajal Keshav, Jatin Sarin, Bhushan Shimpi, and Vinod Suryavanshi.
It was the only Indian feature in the competition at this year’s festival.
The NETPAC jury praised Roy’s portrayal of marginalised lives and described the film as a sensitive depiction of the intersecting lives of migrant workers. It also lauded her assured filmmaking and the film’s nuanced engagement with themes such as displacement, urban survival, desire, gender, and poverty.
The film competed alongside 14 other titles, including La Ragazza con la Leica, The Burning Giants, What Belongs to Others, Falling House, The Difficult Bride and Until the Day Ends.
Lovers in the Blue Night is backed by Vikas Kumar, Sharib Khan, Bibhanshu Rai and Romil Modi, with Neeraj Churi, Beesham A Seecharan and Navin Shetty serving as co-producers. (PTI)
