Parallax Takes International Sales on Anuparna Roy's 'Lovers in the Blue Night' Ahead of Venice Premiere
Parallax has acquired international sales rights to 'Lovers in the Blue Night', the second feature from Indian filmmaker Anuparna Roy, ahead of its world premiere in the Horizons competition at the 83rd Venice International Film Festival (Variety).
The Venice festival runs from 2 to 12 September 2026, and 'Lovers in the Blue Night' is the only Indian film competing in the Horizons section — a competitive strand the festival calls Orizzonti, dedicated to new trends in world cinema (Deccan Herald; Instagram). The official Biennale programme schedules the film in Sala Corinto with a running time of 107 minutes, presented in Hindi, Sylheti Bengali, and Marathi with Italian and English subtitles (Biennale programme).
Set amid Mumbai's nightlife, the film follows four migrants whose lives intertwine across the city after dark (Variety). Roy, who also wrote the story, described the project as a quiet thought she carried for years, exploring the illusion of love and longing (Variety, 19 May 2026). The cast includes Neelima Sharma, Pritam Pilania, Bhushan Shimpi, Jatin Sarin, Kajal Keshav, Swetha Mishra, and Vinod Suryavanshi. Debjit Samanta served as cinematographer, Ketul Thakkar edited, and Nishant Ramtake composed the original score (Variety).
Roy arrives at Venice with a notable history at the festival. One year ago, she became the first Indian filmmaker to win the Horizons best director prize, for her debut feature 'Songs of Forgotten Trees' (Variety). Her return to the same section with a second film places her among a small group of directors the Venice selectors have championed across consecutive projects.
The production is backed by Vikas Kumar of Khan & Kumar Media, Sharib Khan of Ammi Media, Bibhanshu Rai, and Romil Modi. The producing team also includes U.S.-based Rhet Topham as producer, London-based Amar Singh as associate producer, U.S.-based Beesham Sreecharan as executive producer, and executive producer Neeraj Churi (Variety).
Parallax's Liuying Cao said the company was deeply impressed by the film's delicate and nuanced portrayal of human emotions (Variety). International sales rights — meaning Parallax will handle licensing of the film to distributors outside its home market — give the film a route onto screens across territories worldwide after its festival run begins.
For a film rooted in Mumbai's after-hours, the path from there to the Lido is short but layered. Roy wrote the story, assembled a multilingual cast, and shot in three Indian languages; now Parallax will carry it into a global marketplace the moment the lights come up in Sala Corinto.
