Anuparna Roy Creates History, Wins Best Director at Venice Film Festival

Presented by Anurag Kashyap, Roy’s film became the only Indian title in Venice’s Orizzonti section. It revolves around two migrant women in Mumbai as they navigate loneliness, survival, and fleeting moments of connection.

The award was announced by French filmmaker Julia Ducournau, president of the Orizzonti jury, during the festival's closing ceremony on Saturday. Roy, dressed in a white saree, accepted the honour and called the moment "surreal," thanking the jury, her producers, her cast, and filmmaker Anurag Kashyap.

Other competition titles receiving high praise included fest opener La Grazia (Mubi) from Paolo Sorrentino starring Toni Servillo; Kathryn Bigelow’s return with A House of Dynamite (Netflix); Dwayne Johnson and Emily Blunt-starrer The Smashing Machine (A24) from Benny Safdie; Mona Fastvold’s The Testament of Ann Lee starring Amanda Seyfried; Guillermo Del Toro’s Frankenstein (Netflix) led by Oscar Isaac and Jacob Elordi; Yorgos Lanthimos’ Bugonia (Focus) with Emma Stone and Jesse Plemons; and Park Chan-wook’s No Other Choice, among others, as reported by Deadline.

Major Awards – Venice Film Festival 2025

• Golden Lion: Father Mother Sister Brother, dir: Jim Jarmusch

• Silver Lion Grand Jury Prize: The Voice of Hind Rajab

• Silver Lion Best Director: Benny Safdie, The Smashing Machine

• Special Jury Prize: Sotte le Nuvole, dir: Gianfranco Rosi

• Best Screenplay: Valerie Donzelli, Gilles Marchand (A Pied d'oeuvre)

• Best Actor: Toni Servillo (La Grazia)

• Best Actress: Xin Zhilei (The Sun Rises on Un All)

• Marcello Mastroianni Award: Luna Wedler (Silent Friend)

• Lion of the Future – Debut Film: Short Summer, dir: Nastia Korkia

Orizzonti Section

• Best Film: En El Camino, dir: David Pablos

• Best Director: Anuparna Roy (Songs of Forgotten Trees)

• Special Jury Prize: Lost Land, dir: Akio Fujimoto

• Best Actor: Giacomo Covi (A Year of School)

• Best Actress: Benedetta Porcaroli (The Kidnapping of Arabella)

• Best Screenplay: Ana Cristina Barragan (Hiedra)

• Best Short Film: Without Kelly, dir: Lovisa Siren

Venice Classics

• Best Documentary on Cinema: Mata Hari, dirs: Joe Beshenkovsky, James A. Smith

• Best Restored Film: Bashu, The Little Stranger, dir: Bahram Beyzaie

Venice Immersive

• Grand Prize: The Clouds are Two Thousand Meters Up, dir: Singing Chen

• Special Jury Prize: Less Than 5g of Saffron, dir: Negar Motevalymeidanshah

• Achievement Prize: A Long Goodbye, dirs: Kate Voet, Victor Maes