Upamanyu Bhattacharyya announces debut animated feature, Heirloom

Upamanyu Bhattacharyya has announced his first full-length animated feature film, Heirloom. The film has been described as a family tale that follows the life and rise of Sonal, an ambitious teacher-turned-textile mill owner, over almost fifty years and pays tribute to centuries of textile traditions in India.

The animator's climate change horror short film Wade (2020), created with animator Kalp Sanghvi, has been winning accolades across the world. The film imagines a dystopian world where humans are grappling with the effects of climate change as the city of Kolkata has been submerged, and humans and animals are engaged in a tussle for survival. 

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Bhattacharyya is part of a team of six animators who set up Ghost Animation, a studio in Kolkata. He announced his new project on Instagram, sharing a few images from the project.

In a statement to Animation Xpress.com, he said, “An intimate family tale spanning 50 years, Heirloom tells the story of Sonal, who is trying to outgrow her poor beginnings in the midst of a booming textile industry in Ahmedabad. A mysterious disease that only affects poor people, her repeatedly reincarnating husband, her increasingly antagonistic daughter who practices law, the arrival of a distantly related orphan and an omnipresent old lady who lives on her terrace mould Sonal’s quest to become much more than she was born to be”.

The film has been selected for a development residency by the Annecy International Animation Film Festival. His film was among the three projects selected from a total of 32 entries that were received from 17 countries.