AniMela Festival adds Kiran Rao to advisory board

Filmmaker Kiran Rao has been appointed to the Board of Advisors of AniMela, India’s festival dedicated to animation, visual effects (VFX), gaming, comics, and extended reality (XR).

AniMela, founded by Anne Doshi and Archana Trasy and currently led by Festival Director Nina Sabnani, brings together creators, technologists, studios, and storytellers from India and abroad. Rao’s addition expands the festival’s advisory team, which includes Annecy CEO Mickaël Marin, Graphiti Studio’s Munjal Shroff, Assemblage–Cinesite’s Arjun Madhavan, creative consultant Ashima Avasthi Chaudhuri, and Kaboom Film Festival’s Aneta Ozorek.

In a statement, Rao said she looked forward to supporting AniMela’s initiatives, highlighting the festival as a platform for emerging talent in transmedia and AVGC-XR. The festival maintains partnerships with the National Film Development Corporation (NFDC) and international institutions including the Annecy International Animation Film Festival, the French Institute in India, and the Indian Institute of Creative Technology.

AniMela continues to position itself as a forum connecting creators across animation, gaming, comics, VFX, and XR, while expanding India’s presence in the global AVGC-XR industry.