Bombay Rose, Gitanjali Rao's animated film, to be screened at 2019 Toronto Film Festival on 7 September

Gitanjali Rao’s animation feature Bombay Rose, which will have its world premiere at International Critics Week at the Venice Film Festival, will also be screened at Toronto Film Festival 2019 on 7 September, in the Contemporary World Cinema Strand. Check out the announcement here

#BombayRose to feature in Contemporary World Cinema Strand at Toronto Film Festival 2019 following its world premiere in Venice. #TIFF19 #GitanjaliRao @Cameron_tiff @cinestaanfilmco @lesfilmsdici https://t.co/fT5ZxfcJrX pic.twitter.com/gmLsT72LGe

— Bombay Rose (@BombayRoseFilm) August 13, 2019

Bombay Rose is the story of a flower seller who has to make the choice between protecting her family or allowing herself to fall in love. This touching story is set on the streets of Mumbai and moves from real life to fantasy, accompanied by much-loved Bollywood songs. Painted frame by frame, for which Gitanjali is famed, Bombay Rose is a chronicle of the people who migrate from small towns, seeking minimal life in the maximum city. “They say it takes a village to bring up a child, well it took hundreds of hardworking, ambitious and talented Indian artists to make Bombay Rose and I am as much delighted for them, as I am for me, that Bombay Rose is gaining such recognition by the international industry. I am thankful to Cameron (Bailey, director of TIFF) and his team for selecting Bombay Rose and look forward to the response of TIFFs audiences," Rao was quoted as saying in a press statement. “We are so proud to present Bombay Rose, Gitanjali’s beautiful love letter to Mumbai, at Toronto. We are delighted but not surprised at the appetite of the major international film festivals to celebrate Gitanjali’s beautiful film," producer Rohit Khattar says.   Bombay Rose is the long-awaited feature debut of Rao. Her five animated short films, _Blue, Orange, Printed Rainbow, Cha_i and TrueLoveStory have been to over 150 film festivals and received 30 awards. Printed Rainbow won three awards in Cannes Critic’s Week 2006 where it premiered, and was shortlisted for the Oscars in 2008. Bombay Rose will open Venice Film Festival on the 29 August 2019, before its North American premiere in Toronto. Produced by Anand Mahindra and Rohit Khattar under Cinestaan Film Company (who also recently executive produced the 3 Academy Award-nominated Cold War), Bombay Rose has been written, designed and directed by Gitanjali Rao. The film is in co-production with Film d’Ici and was delivered at Mumbai based PaperBoat Animation Studios. Working creatively alongside Gitanjali was acclaimed sound designer P M Satheesh.