Red Lorry Film Festival to open with Amanda Seyfried-starrer 'Testament of Ann Lee'

New Delhi, Mar 9 (PTI) "Testament of Ann Lee", starring Amanda Seyfried, will serve as the opening film at the third edition of the upcoming Red Lorry Film Festival, the organisers announced on Monday.

The three-day festival will kickstart from March 13 to 15 and will be hosted at INOX Maison, Jio World Drive Plaza, BKC, with satellite screenings at PVR ICON, PVR City Mall, PVR Dynamix, Cinepolis Fun Republic.

The film is directed by Mona Fastvold and features Seyfried in the role of Ann Lee. 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. It premiered in competition at the Venice International Film Festival. Martin Bourboulon's directorial "13 Days, 13 Nights", a French political thriller, based on the real-life evacuation of the French Embassy in Kabul during the Taliban takeover of Afghanistan in 2021, will be the closing film of the festival.

The spotlight feature of the festival was announced as the TIFF and Busan selection "Bayaan". Directed by Bikas Ranjan Mishra, it features Huma Qureshi, Chandrachur Singh and Sachin Khedekar among others. The red carpet screening will include the cast and crew in attendance, according to a press release.

Curated by BookMyShow, the festival will showcase over 120 films, featuring a mix of world premieres, restored classics, and tributes to cinematic legends.

Ashish Saksena, Festival Director, Red Lorry Film Festival and COO- Cinemas, BookMyShow, said both, "The Testament of Ann Lee " and "13 Days, 13 Nights", "represent the kind of strong international storytelling that the festival aims to bring to audiences in Mumbai".

“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'. 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," he said in a statement.

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. PTI ATR ATR ATR