Press kit
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PDF · one page · updated 4 September 2026 · 61 KB
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Each block copies on its ownWestern Ghats, India, 1799. Ponni is fifteen, the heir to a kingdom in hiding, and she has never known her father. Her mother, Raajamma, the widowed queen, is hardening her for a war Ponni does not understand.
Alice is thirteen, an Irish orphan, enslaved to the British officer who killed Ponni's father. She is forced to lead his soldiers to the hidden village.
What follows is a night battle beneath the Athirapally waterfall: around a hundred villagers against around a hundred British soldiers, muskets and torches in the dark. Lightning strikes a tree. It burns, crashes into the arena and splits the field with a wall of fire. Young warriors leap through the flames.
The two girls end up on the same side of it. And Ponni has to become the leader her mother has been demanding.
Key facts
| Fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Title | Princess of Athirapally |
| Format | 15-minute narrative short · fully CG · period action-drama |
| Engine | Unreal Engine 5; every frame rendered in-engine (final pixel) |
| Setting | Western Ghats, India, 1799; the Athirapally waterfall |
| Lead characters | 4 — Ponni (15), Alice (13), Raajamma (32), Isaac (47) |
| Crowd | ~200 crowd combatants (≈100 villagers vs ≈100 British soldiers) |
| Writer · Director · Editor · VFX Supervisor | Sibi Naayagam |
| Producers | Alessia Cruci, David Hemphill |
| Production company | Astralforge Creative LLC |
| Technology partner | Vega Entertainment |
| Status (as of 4 September 2026) | Pre-production 72%, milestone-weighted; production fully funded and scheduled; post-production funding being sought |
| Motion capture | November 7–9, 2026 |
| Director's Cut | December 15, 2026 |
| DCP mastered | March 31, 2027 |
| Festival circuit | From April 2027 |
| Public tool release | Q2 2027 |
| Contact | sibi.naayagam@gmail.com · @princessofathirapally_thefilm |
Formerly titled Ponni; a 2020 thesis film under that name won an Epic MegaGrant.
Cast and crew
Plain text · ready to pastePonni (15) — Pragathi Guruprasad · Alice (13) — June Schreiner · Raajamma (32) — name to be announced · Isaac (47) — auditions underway
Sibi Naayagam — Writer · Director · Editor · VFX Supervisor (Los Angeles; Astralforge Creative LLC) Alessia Cruci — Producer David Hemphill — Producer Vijey Adithya — Director of Photography (cinematographer and DI colorist; Air, 2023) Sydnie Ponic — Production Designer (Virtual Art Department Supervisor, Mufasa: The Lion King; Joker: Folie à Deux) Poornima Ramaswamy — Costume Designer (National Film Award for Best Costume Design, Paradesi; Soorarai Pottru; Nerkonda Paarvai) Sean Roldan — Music Composer (Jai Bhim, Joker, Pa Paandi) Kunal Rajan — Sound Designer (Jawan, highest-grossing Indian film of 2023; Vishwaroopam; Jem and the Holograms) Benjamin Cunis — Stunt Coordinator (Helen Hayes Awards for movement and choreography, Synetic Theater) Jonathan "Panthera" Wallace — Stunt Performer Ilyana Eberhardt — Stunt Performer Harkin Smith — Stunt Performer
Stills and artwork
No stills are released yet. The poster, teaser and artwork are added here when they are.
Press contact
Subject line pre-filled: "Press enquiry: Princess of Athirapally".
Astralforge Creative LLC · github.com/astralforgecreative