Anuparna Roy's 'Lovers in the Blue Night' receives NETPAC Award at the Venice Film Festival

Filmmaker Anuparna Roy ’s film Lovers in the Blue Night received the NETPAC Award for Best Asian Film at the Venice Film Festival.

The Orizzonti title marks Roy’s second consecutive Venice award, following her Best Director win for her debut feature Songs of Forgotten Trees in 2025, according to a press release.

The NETPAC jury recognised the film for the sensitive portrayal of marginalised lives in Mumbai, describing it as a “delicately sensitive vision of the intersecting lives of migrant workers” and praising Roy’s “confident voice” and the film’s “cohesively nuanced” exploration of displacement, urban survival, hidden desire, gender, poverty and class.

Roy said she is grateful for the recognition. “Winning the NETPAC Award means a lot to me because this film comes from a very personal place. These are characters and lives that are often pushed to the margins," she said in a statement.