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A still from the film

The Kalki Koechlin starrer ‘Margarita, With a Straw’ is set to be screened at the prestigious Tallinn Black Nights Film Festival (TBNFF) in Estonia on November 24, 2014. Based on the story of a wheelchair-bound rebellious young girl with cerebral palsy, the film has won hearts at the Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF), the BFI London Film Festival and the Busan Film Festival even before its official release.

‘Margarita, With A Straw’ is the story of Laila, played by Kalki Koechlin, who is a teenager with cerebral palsy. The film follows her daring journey through sexual, academic and emotional self-discovery as she pursues her aims in life. It addresses cerebral palsy, death and sexuality without superficiality, and while many films may mention these topics, ‘Margarita, With A Straw’ inspires the notion that handicap cannot limit a person’s dreams.

The film has also become eligible for the Grand Prix Award at the Cannes Film Festival, which speaks volumes about the kind of cinema Bollywood is exporting to the world. The last winner of this award was an Italian film, which went on to receive an Oscar for the Best Foreign Language Film. With the kind of response ‘Margarita, With A Straw’ is currently garnering, the movie already seems to be a contender for an Oscar.

Produced by Viacom18 Motion Pictures, Jakhotia Group, Ishan Talkies and ADAPT, and directed by the acclaimed Shonali Bose the film’s stellar cast includes Kalki Koechlin as Laila, veteran star Revathy, Hollywood actor William Moseley (lead of the Narnia Chronicles) and the talented new face Sayani Gupta in pivotal roles. The movie is slated to release early next year.