Ticketing platform BookMyShow is bringing back the Red Lorry Film Festival for a second edition. Among the movies and documentaries that will be screened between March 21 and 23 in Mumbai and Hyderabad are Universal Language, Hollywoodgate, I’m Nevenka and The Story of Souleymane.
The opening film is Tim Fehlbaum’s September 5, which recreates American network ABC TV’s coverage of the hostage crisis at the 1972 Munich Olympics. Sean Baker’s Oscar-winning Anora and Jacques Audiard’s musical Emilia Perez are among the big-ticket titles.
Also noteworthy are Gia Coppola’s The Last Showgirl, starring Pamela Anderson as an exotic dancer at a Las Vegas revue on the verge of closure. Luca Guadagnino’s Queer stars Daniel Craig as a writer besotted with a younger man.
In Magnus von Horn’s Oscar-nominated The Girl with the Needle, loosely based on an actual case, a seamstress has a fateful encounter with a woman claiming to be a benefactor. The Outrun stars Saoirse Ronan as a recovering alcoholic. When the Light Breaks, about a woman grieving for her dead lover, was premiered at the Cannes Film Festival in 2024.
The programme has at least 120 films across genres, such as Failure!, To Die Alone, This Time Next Year, Sew Torn, Winter in Sochko, Cold Wallet, 999: The Forgotten Girls, A World Apart, The Accidental Getaway Driver, Emanuelle, Rita, The 47 and Red Rooms.
The selection includes a focus on the cinemas of France and Spain. The French package has Arnaud Desplechin’s Filmlovers!, a docufiction that celebrates the magic of cinema, and Dog on Trial, based on an actual case. Visiting Hours, Meanwhile on Earth, Out of Control and Six Jours are some of the other French movies.
The French classics include Louis Malle’s Au Revoir Les Enfants, Henri-Georges Clouzot’s The Wages Of Fear and Costa-Gavras’s Z. The Spanish package has MARCO, The Invented Truth, Ellipsis, Haunted Heart and Checkmates.
There will also be screenings of Indian and Hollywood classics, such as Pretty Woman, Karz, Qayamat Se Qayamat Tak and Udaan. The shows of Vijay Anand’s Jewel Thief and Johnny Mera Naam are tied to a discussion on the female characters in the films of Dev Anand and Vijay Anand. This conversation will take place between Tanuja Chaturvedi, author of Hum Dono, about the partnership between the Anand brothers, and Om Books International Editor-in-Chief Shantanu Ray Chaudhuri.
There are other panel discussions and events aimed at creating a better understanding of the filmmaking process. Oscar-winning producer Guneet Monga will hold a masterclass on how independent films can navigate the festival and awards circuits.
Producer Siddharth Roy Kapur and PVR INOX Ltd’s Chief Strategic Advisor Alok Tandon will discuss changes in audience behaviour and the theatrical business. Akarsh Khurana and Sooni Taraporevala will converse on the similarities and differences in films and streaming shows. Anjum Rajabali, one of the driving forces behind Screenwriters’ Association, will hold a masterclass on scriptwriting.
Other sessions include ‘Why Hollywood Matters: India’s 2025 Story’ and ‘Dialogue Baazi: The Art of the Written and Spoken Word in Indian Films’. Lyricist and writer Kausar Munir will lead the discussion titled ‘The Poetry of Cinema’.
Casting director Tess Joseph will talk about finding Indian actors for international project and representation. Harshit Bansal, founder of the show Humans of Cinema, will share his insights into how to package cinematic knowledge for contemporary audiences.
Festival passes are available on BookMyShow.
In a press statement, Ashish Saksena, COO – Cinemas, BookMyShow and Festival Director, said, “For our second edition, we’ve curated a powerful lineup of films that push the boundaries of storytelling, exploring themes of love, loss, identity and survival. As we expand to Hyderabad and continue to receive love in Mumbai, our goal is to create unforgettable cinematic experiences that showcase the transformative power of storytelling. We remain committed to connecting audiences with the magic of cinema in its most impactful form.”
