Bhubaneswar: Abhay Deol-starrer Jungle Cry —a film inspired by the true story of 12 underprivileged tribal girls from Odisha who went on to win the prestigious U14 Rugby World Cup in England— has kickstarted its campaign in all categories for the 95th Academy Awards, the makers of the film have announced.
Filmed in the UK and India, the movie tells the inspiring story of a team of tribal kids, studying at Kalinga Institute of Social Sciences, who play barefoot for the want of sports shoes, but who do not let their circumstances get in the way of their dreams. ‘Jungle Cry’ stars actors Abhay Deol, Emily Shah, Atul Kumar, Stewart Wright, and Julian Lewis Jones, with cameos by several world-class Rugby players.
The uplifting drama, based on the life of Dr. Achyuta Samanta who provides free accommodation, food, healthcare and education to more than 30,000 orphan and tribal children at KISS, has already earned a clutch of awards and accolades, including the Official Selection at the Sweden Film Awards 2021; the Best Actress & Best Inspirational Film Awards at the 2021 Mykonos Film Festival; and the Best Biographical Film, Best Foreign Film, Best Humanitarian Feature Film, Best Inspirational Feature Film & Best Original Story Awards at the famed Cannes World Film Festival 2021. It has also won the 2021 Best Film (Jury) Award at the 11th Dadasaheb Phalke International Film Festival.
Directed by Sagar Ballary, Jungle Cry is produced by Prashant Shah, Jaswant Singh and Shabbir Boxwala. The film is distributed by Lionsgate Play.
In the past, the Oscars jury has applauded well-made true-to-life biopics. With that thought in mind, Jungle Cry is entering the ring for consideration at the Oscars in all categories. It will campaign in the run-up to the 95th Academy Awards, scheduled to be held on March 12, 2023, at the famous Dolby Theatre in Hollywood.
