What does Anuparna Roy’s Best Director Award at the 82nd Venice film festival mean for women in world cinema?

Anuparna Roy has just made history at the 82nd Venice International Film Festival, winning the Best Director award in the Orizzonti (Horizons) section for her debut feature film Songs of Forgotten Trees.

Roy’s win has strengthened the visibility of Female Directors on international platforms. When a woman from a relatively underrepresented region—Purulia, West Bengal—wins at a top-tier Film Festival, it challenges prevailing norms about which stories deserve attention and who gets to tell them.

Songs of Forgotten Trees focuses on the nuanced, marginalised experiences of migrant women in Mumbai. By centring women not simply as supporting characters or symbolic figures but as full protagonists with their own emotional landscapes, the film contributes to diversifying the kinds of female stories seen on world cinema stages.

Roy’s journey from working in IT and leaving a stable career to breaking into cinema—is a powerful template for First-Time Female Filmmakers, especially from non-metropolitan areas or from outside established film industry networks. It shows that determination, lived experience, and a unique voice can win global recognition.

Her win also carries a political dimension. Roy has used her platform to speak about issues of gender, caste, and global solidarity (e.g. her mention of Palestine). This signals that recognition at such level does not just reward art but can also amplify activism and encourage Filmmakers to tackle uncomfortable subjects.

In short, Anuparna Roy’s recognition for Songs of Forgotten Trees is not just a personal milestone, it is symbolic of shifting tides in global cinema. It points toward a future where women’s stories are heard more fully, where diversity in backgrounds and perspectives becomes a norm, not a rarity.