Acclaimed filmmaker Kiran Rao has joined the Board of Advisors of AniMela, India’s first festival dedicated to Animation, VFX, Gaming, Comics and Extended Reality.

Her addition brings fresh momentum to a platform that has quickly emerged as a dynamic space for creators, technologists, studios and students shaping the country’s creative-tech future. Conceived by founders Anne Doshi and Archana Trasy, and led by Festival Director Nina Sabnani, AniMela has rapidly evolved into a global meeting ground for storytelling innovation.

In her statement, Kiran Rao said she was excited to work with a festival that nurtures imagination, spotlights emerging talent and encourages transmedia innovation. She added that AniMela offers Indian creators the platform they deserve to showcase their art and connect with the global AVGC–XR community.

Rao joins a distinguished advisory board that 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 artistic director Aneta Ozorek. The collective experience of the board continues to shape AniMela’s direction as a world-class space for artistic and technological breakthroughs. Festival co-founder Archana Trasy said AniMela breaks long-standing silos in the creative fields, enabling filmmakers, animators, gamers and technologists to collaborate and redefine the AVGC–XR landscape.

With strong partnerships with NFDC, Annecy International Animation Film Festival & MIFA, the French Institute in India and the Indian Institute of Creative Technology, AniMela’s influence continues to grow.