Anuparna Roy’s ‘Lovers in the Blue Night’ Wins NETPAC Award at Venice

Bengal-born filmmaker Anuparna Roy’s second feature, Lovers in the Blue Night , has won the Network for the Promotion of Asian Cinema (NETPAC) Award for Best Asian Film at the 83rd Venice International Film Festival, marking her second consecutive major recognition at the prestigious festival.

The film, which premiered in the Orizzonti (Horizons) section on September 11, is a 107-minute drama set against an imagined Mumbai and follows four migrants whose lives become intertwined through loneliness, desire, survival and the search for love. The characters include a closeted gay man, his wife, a small-time thief and a pimp, with their stories exploring displacement, poverty, sexuality, caste and the struggle for acceptance.

The film draws partly from a deeply personal memory from Roy’s childhood in Purulia, West Bengal. She has recalled knowing a woman named Ameena who was forced to work to repay a debt. A conversation with her stayed with Roy and eventually became one of the emotional starting points for the film.

The NETPAC jury praised Roy’s sensitive and delicate portrayal of marginalised lives, along with the film’s treatment of displacement, urban survival, desire, gender and poverty.

Roy described the recognition as deeply meaningful, saying the film came from a personal space and was made with an effort to portray its characters honestly. She also recalled the film receiving a seven-minute standing ovation in Venice.

The film features Neelima Sharma, Pritam Pilania, Kajal Keshav, Jatin Sarin, Bhushan Shimpi and Vinod Suryavanshi. It is produced by Vikas Kumar, Sharib Khan, Bibhanshu Rai and Romil Modi, among others.

The award comes a year after Roy made history at Venice with her debut feature, Songs of Forgotten Trees, becoming the first Indian filmmaker to win the Orizzonti Best Director award. Her back-to-back appearances and awards underline her growing presence in Indian independent cinema.