World applauds Purulia’s story told by filmmaker Anuparna Roy
The Statesman | 9 September 2025The Orizzonti section highlights the emerging voices of upcoming filmmakers as well as new trends in global cinema. The award was announced at the 82nd edition of the festival by French filmmaker and jury head Julia Ducournau, who named both Roy and her film Songs of Forgotten Trees, much to her joy and amazement. The 80-minute film was the lone Indian entry in the section.
The story and screenplay of Songs of Forgotten Trees is also Anuparna’s creation.
In her own words, the director said: “I was born in Narayanpur, a remote village in Purulia, far from the cultural and linguistic elite of urban Bengal. The world I came from – its language, its women, its stories – was shaped by caste, class, and gender-based neglect, and silenced by systemic indifference. My debut feature is rooted in that silence.” At the awards ceremony, she recalled the “neglected, marooned and humiliated women” of society, especially in Purulia.
Chief minister Mamata Banerjee has congratulated the young director. In her X handle, she wrote, “The best director award at the Venice Film Festival, won by Anuparna Roy of Purulia, has made me extremely happy. I congratulate her, her parents, friends and acquaintances.”
Brahmananda and Manisha Roy, proud parents, are elated as they sit in their apartment in Kulti. Talking to The Statesman today, Brahmananad Roy, who had retired from Eastern Coalfields Limited, said her elder daughter passed her higher secondary examinations from Napara High School in Pooncha, Purulia. She then went on to do her post graduation in mass communications from New Delhi.
“Since her childhood, she used to write stories and watch serials on television. After joining the IT industry in Mumbai, she became close to Anurag Kashyap. He had really inspired her to pursue her creative work. On 6 September night, she called us and said that out of 19 films in the Orizzonti category, her film had been selected for the Best Director’s Award,” the proud father said.
“I have talked with her over the phone and am anxiously waiting for her to come home. I will cook her favourite dishes. We used to tell her to concentrate on her studies instead of watching the serials. But today we are really proud of her talent and skills as a film director,” said her mother, Manisha.
Asansol MP and senior Bollywood actor Shatrughan Sinha had also congratulated Anuparna Roy and said that he will meet her once she returns to Kulti.
