Red Lorry Film Festival to Open With The Testament of Ann Lee, Feature Huma Qureshi’s Bayaan as Centrepiece Spotlight and Close With 13 Days, 13 Nights

The Red Lorry Film Festival by BookMyShow, scheduled to take place in Mumbai from 13–15 March, has announced its opening and closing films.

Huma Qureshi’s Bayaan movie poster for Red lorry Film Festival

The festival will open on Friday, 13 March, with the critically acclaimed feature The Testament of Ann Lee, directed by Mona Fastvold and starring Amanda Seyfried. The historical drama explores the life of Ann Lee, founder of the Shaker religious movement, tracing her journey from persecution in England to becoming a spiritual leader in United States. The film premiered in competition at the Venice International Film Festival, where it received a widely reported standing ovation and was nominated for the Golden Lion.

It was also announced that the closing film of the festival would be the highly talked about French feature 13 Days, 13 Nights, directed by Martin Bourboulon. The French political thriller is based on the real-life evacuation of the French Embassy in Kabul during the Taliban takeover of Afghanistan in 2021. The film had its world premiere at the Cannes Film Festival. Starring Roschdy Zem, the film follows diplomats, security personnel and civilians attempting to escape the city during the escalating crisis.

The spotlight feature of the festival was announced as TIFF and Busan selection ‘Bayaan’ directed by Bikas Ranjan Mishra and starring Huma Qureshi, Chandrachur Singh and Sachin Khedekar among others. The red carpet screening will see the cast and crew in attendance. 

Commenting on the announcement, Ashish Saksena, Festival Director and COO – Cinemas, BookMyShow, said, “We are pleased to open the third edition of the Red Lorry Film Festival with The Testament of Ann Lee and close with 13 Days, 13 Nights. Both these films represent the kind of strong international storytelling that the festival aims to bring to audiences in Mumbai. We are also extremely proud to present Bayaan as our Centrepiece Spotlight selection, recognising a powerful Indian film that has taken our storytelling to global festival platforms.”

The three day festival will showcase over 120 films from across the world, including festival favourites and international titles from regions such as Korea, France and USA. The programme also features curated sections like “Legacy Rewind”, celebrating classic cinema, alongside a special focus on Marathi films.

Among the highlights this year is “Femme Lens”, a section led by filmmaker Ashwiny Iyer Tiwari, spotlighting films by women directors from around the world and celebrating female perspectives in storytelling.

The festival will also host the French IP Market, aimed at connecting French intellectual properties with producers and studios from India and Southeast Asia for potential screen adaptations, along with a special showcase of contemporary French cinema and curated international titles.

Additionally, the edition will feature a retrospective of filmmaker Pradip Krishen, including restored screenings of his films such as In Which Annie Gives It Those Ones, Electric Moon and Massey Sahib, bringing restored Indian classics back to the big screen.