Venice Horizons Best Director Winner Anuparna Roy’s ‘Lovers in the Blue Night’ Boarded by Parallax (EXCLUSIVE)
Parallax has acquired international sales rights to Anuparna Roy’s “Lovers in the Blue Night”, ahead of its world premiere in the Horizons competition at the Venice Film Festival. The deal strengthens the international profile of Roy, who became the first Indian filmmaker to win the Horizons best director award last year for her debut, “Songs of Forgotten Trees”.
Set in Mumbai’s nightlife, the film follows four migrants, including a husband concealing his sexuality, his isolated bar-worker wife, a petty criminal and a sex worker, as they seek survival, belonging and connection. It is produced by Vikas Kumar, Sharib Khan, Bibhanshu Rai and Romil Modi, with further producers based in the US and UK; Roy wrote the story, while the cast includes Neelima Sharma, Pritam Pilania and Bhushan Shimpi.
In short
- Parallax will sell Roy’s new Venice Horizons film internationally.
- Roy returns after last year’s historic best-director win.
- The drama follows four migrants in Mumbai’s nightlife.
Explained simply
The Horizons section is a competition at the Venice Film Festival, where films from around the world are shown to international audiences and industry figures. Anuparna Roy is an Indian filmmaker whose debut, “Songs of Forgotten Trees”, won the section’s best director award last year.
“Lovers in the Blue Night” is set among Mumbai’s nightlife and follows four migrants: a bar worker, her husband, a petty criminal and a sex worker. Their stories touch on work, isolation, sexuality and the search for a place to belong.
Parallax is an international film sales company, which seeks buyers and distribution for films in different countries. International sales can help a film reach audiences beyond its home market.