SF Bay Area Premiere

Official Selection, Toronto International & Venice Film Festivals, Gold Hugo nominee at Venice, 2019

In this gorgeous and evocative hand-painted animated feature, Bombay Rose, a single red rose weaves together three fantastical tales of impossible loves.

In the rich, colorful and layered animation there is an ethereal brightness to the chaotic Mumbai streetscapes where Bollywood cinema is both satirized and romanticized, and small town folks in the big city can be crushed by its mean streets, or redeemed by love. The film moves seamlessly between a documentary feeling of present day struggles in Mumbai, to the lusciously designed dream sequences set in ancient India and inspired by Mughal folk art. Yoav Rosenthal’s original score merges swooning ballads with traditional Bollywood music and a haunting Latin love tribute.

Class and political commentary are subtle and second to the visual evocation of this story about unsung heroes struggling for survival, who live and love across time and memory. Rao’s long awaited feature debut must not be missed.

“ … with its heart firmly beating to the music of Bollywood, Gitanjali Rao’s debut feature is a stunningly realised work of animated filmmaking… cleverly choreographed and painted frame by frame over a six-year production period.” – Fionnuala Halligan, ScreenDaily