A special screening of the animated short film, “Priya’s Mask” featuring India’s first female superhero — Priya was held on Zoom.

A symbol of strength and a force for change for girls around the world, Priya tackles the COVID-19 pandemic that has challenged the health and well-being of the world.

Priya befriended a little girl named Meena to show her the sacrifices made by frontline healthcare workers and instil the power of courage and compassion during this difficult time. An international array of actors and feminist leaders loaned their voices to this important film including Vidya Balan, Mrunal Thakur, Sairah Khan and Rosanna Arquette.

A discussion and Q&A session with the creative team behind the innovative film and augmented reality comic book which was named by UN Women as a “gender equality champion” followed the film screening, led by Vaani Kaur. Joining us were founder, documentary filmmaker, and technologist Ram Devineni, producer Tanvi Gandhi, Indrani Ray, and Monika Samtani, writer Shubhra Prakash, with illustrator and animator Syd Fini, Hamid Bahrami and Neda Kazemifar.

The pathbreaking film is historic and of utmost importance to understand the emotional toll the pandemic has on young people while shattering the false information about the pandemic. Basking in the exceptional legacy of being the one of the very few comic books specifically constructed to generate awareness on social perils amongst the youth community – the comic book series is available as a free download.