India, Sept. 8 -- Anuparna Roy is a mix of emotions - happy, tired, and content - as she talks about her historic win at the Venice International Film Festival, where she became the first Indian to bag the Best Director award for Songs of Forgotten Trees in the Orizzonti Competition section. With everyone around telling her about her creating history, she tells us, "All these statements are making me humble. I cannot lie back and enjoy hearing that I have created history. Come on! I am inspired by many other and better women filmmakers from within and outside India. It's not just me; it's cinema which has created history again. I would love to give the award to cinema, and my love for it." Songs of Forgotten Trees was the only Indian selection in the Orizzonti Competition section this year. As she accepted the award at the festival, Anuparna reveals that her mind was on her own journey and the responsibility that comes with recognition. "I remembered how Anurag (Kashyap, presenter) phrased it to me, that winning an award is not just bringing reputation but also responsibility. to make better films and better craft, even when you are uncomfortable," she says. She tells us that she dedicates this award to "all the beautiful women out there" and to her hometown, Purulia, in West Bengal. She says, "I have seen the women's lives there. If any of them, after seeing this, can raise their voices, it would be great. It will be sufficient for me to keep myself motivated." Sharing further, Anuparna says that making a film centred on women and their intimacy, with full support from an all-male team, was deeply affirming. "It was definitely tough, but the kind of backing I received set an example for the world. Gender is literally secondary," she says, adding, "My whole film was backed by men, and then Anurag sir was a bonus. For a film talking about friendship, outside the film too, the team members were friends and close. This is huge."...