• The Red Lorry Film Festival is returning for its second season, expanding to Hyderabad along with Mumbai.
• The festival boasts a diverse lineup of 120 films, including Academy Award shortlisted films "Universal Language" and "Hollywoodgate".
• This year introduces the Competition Segment, recognizing outstanding talent in two categories: Best Film and Best Debut Film.
• The festival's expansion signifies its growing popularity and commitment to celebrating diverse storytelling in cinema.

The Red Lorry Film Festival, following a triumphant inaugural edition in Mumbai last year, is gearing up for its second season. This year, the festival is expanding its reach, making its debut in the city of Hyderabad along with Mumbai. The event is scheduled to unfold in both cities from March 21 to 23, 2025, with the Hyderabad chapter aptly titled Red Lorry Film Festival: Parallel Verse.

The festival has curated an impressive lineup of 120 acclaimed titles, spanning various genres and languages. Among the standout films is the Canadian absurdist comedy-drama Universal Language, which has recently been shortlisted for Best International Feature Film at the Academy Awards. Another highlight is Hollywoodgate, a documentary that explores the rise of the Taliban in post-2021 Kabul following the US withdrawal from Afghanistan. This film, directed by Ibrahim Nash'at, has also been shortlisted in the Documentary Feature Film category at the Academy Awards.

A Diverse Array of Films

The festival's lineup also includes This Time Next Year, an English rom-com drama; To Die Alone, an LGBTQ+ story of love and isolation that won the Audience Award at SF Indie Fest 2024; and Failure!, a Mexican-American crime comedy. The festival will also showcase Mom, a psychological horror that follows a mother confronting her dark, buried past in a gripping and suspenseful narrative.

In contrast, When The Light Breaks, the opening film of the Un Certain Regard selection at the 2024 Cannes Film Festival, portrays a long summer day in Iceland, spanning from one sunset to the next. It tells the story of Una, a young art student, as she experiences love, friendship, sorrow, and beauty. Ashish Saksena, COO, Cinemas, BookMyShow, in a statement, 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.

Competition Segment and Other Highlights

This year, the festival introduces the Competition Segment, a new initiative aimed at recognizing and celebrating outstanding talent and artistry in filmmaking. The segment will honour achievements in two key categories: The Front Runners (Best Film) and Fresh Frames (Best Debut Film).

On the documentary front, '999: The Forgotten Girls', winner of the Audience Award at the Miami Jewish Film Festival, sheds light on a harrowing chapter of history, telling forgotten stories as 999 Jewish girls are secretly deported on the first Jewish transport to Auschwitz, ordered to register for government work service as volunteers. 'I'm Nevenka' screened at BFI London Film Festival, centers on true happenings of Nevenka Fernández, a young woman in 1990s Spain who courageously reported sexual harassment by her employer, marking a turning point in the history of Spain and signalling a change in the legal system across the world.