Anuparna Roy's 'Songs of Forgotten Trees' to close IFFS 2025

Mumbai, Oct 10 (IANS) After winning the Orizzonti Award for Best Director at the 2025 Venice International Film Festival, filmmaker Anuparna Roy’s directorial ‘Songs of Forgotten Trees’ has been chosen as the closing night film at the 11th edition of the Indian Film Festival of Sydney (IFFS).

The film is a lyrical and meditative exploration of memory, resilience, and the sacred relationship between people and nature. “Songs of Forgotten Trees” is a drama starring Naaz Shaikh and Sumi Baghel, with Bhushan Shimpi, Ravi Maan, Pritam Pilania, and Lovely Singh in supporting roles.

Speaking of the closing film at IFFS 2025, festival director Mitu Lange said: “We could not have imagined a more perfect closing for our 11th anniversary edition. Songs of Forgotten Trees embodies everything we at IFFS stand for cinema that moves, provokes, and heals.”

“Anuparna Roy has created a cinematic poem that resonates universally, yet speaks deeply to our cultural roots. We are overwhelmed to have had the honor of presenting its Australian premiere,” said Lange.

The film had its world premiere in the Orizzonti (Horizons) section of the 82nd Venice International Film Festival on 1 September 2025, where Roy became the first Indian filmmaker to win the Best Director award in that category.

The film’s story follows a migrant actress in Mumbai subletting her apartment to a corporate worker. Despite their different backgrounds, the two women develop an unexpected connection beyond being roommates.

The IFFS showcased the restored version of Amitabh Bachchan and Dharmendra-starrer Sholay with its original ending. Most significantly, the restored film features the original ending envisioned by director Ramesh Sippy, in which Thakur avenges his family by killing Gabbar Singh.

The festival, running from 9 to 11 October, celebrates Indian cinema across three vibrant days. The restored Sholay had its world premiere earlier this month at the Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) and now will screen in Sydney.

Sholay has been meticulously restored in 4K by the Film Heritage Foundation in collaboration with Sippy Films. The process, years in the making, involved locating a rare colour reversal print in London and recovering original camera negatives and long-lost deleted scenes from a warehouse in Mumbai.

--IANS

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