From a small village in West Bengal to the red carpet of Venice : Meet Anuparna Roy!

Anuparna Roy won the Best Director award in the Horizons section at the 82nd Venice Film Festival for her film the ” Song of Forgotten Trees “.

The people from Purulia truly feel proud when their people make history on an international stage with just sheer hardwork and talent. For India, it is a special moment too and it has taken place once again, as on Saturday Indian Filmmaker Anuparna Roy wins the Best Director award in Orizzonti (Horizons) section at the 82nd Venice Film Festival, making her the first indian woman to ever do so.

The film which is starring Naaz Shaikh and Sumi Baghel, Songs of Forgotten Trees is produced by Bibhanshu Rai, Romil Modi and Ranjan Singh and follows the story of two women and how their lives get intertwined in Mumbai.

It was presented by Indian director Anurag Kashyap, along with the movie’s producers.

All about Anuparna Roy

Anuparna is from Narayanpur village under Nitoria police station in Purulia. She passed her madhyamik from Ranipur Colliery School and her Higher Secondary from Napara High School. She studied British English Literature at Burdwan University and later shifted to Mumbai to focus on filmmaking. However, before getting into the world of cinema, she did a number of corporate jobs including working in IT sales.

Her love for cinema got her into pursuing this, which lead her to earning a diploma in acting from Anupam Kher’s institute called the ” Actor Prepares “. She has also participated in various acting workshops in Mumbai. Anuparna started her journey as a director with a short film called ” Run to the River ” in 2023. It as loved globally by the audience and the critics.

Further, Anuparna ventured deeper into this journey and made her first feature Film, Songs of Forgotten Trees and as we all know, the rest is history.

Anuparna’s achievement is so much more than just a win. The future of cinema is bright, stories from the silenced voices, forgotten corners and women written-led narratives are thriving more than ever. Congratulations to her and all other winners!