SITA SINGS THE BLUES – NINA PALEY – 82’- USA – 2008 – 35mm
Sita is a Hindu goddess, the leading lady of India’s epic the Ramayana and a dutiful wife who follows her husband Rama on a 14 year exile to a forest, only to be kidnapped by an evil king from Sri Lanka. Despite remaining faithful to her husband, Sita is put through many tests. Nina (the filmmaker Nina Paley herself) is an artist who finds parallels in Sita’s life when her husband – in India on a work project - decides to break up their marriage and dump her via email. Three hilarious Indonesian shadow puppets with Indian accents – linking the popularity of the Ramayana from India all the way to the Far East - narrate both the ancient tragedy and modern comedy in this beautifully animated interpretation of the epic.
In her first feature length film, Paley juxtaposes multiple narrative and visual styles to create a highly entertaining yet moving vision of the Ramayana. Musical numbers choreographed to the 1920's jazz vocals of Annette Hanshaw feature a cast of hundreds: flying monkeys, evil monsters, gods, goddesses, warriors, sages, and winged eyeballs. A tale of truth, justice and a woman’s cry for equal treatment. Sita Sings the Blues earns its tagline as "The Greatest Break-Up Story Ever Told."
AWARDS
Berlinale, Feb ‘08 (Special Mention, Gen-14+), Germany; Annecy, June ‘08 (Cristal for best feature film), France; Avignon, June ‘08 (“Prix Tournage” for Best American Feature Film), France; Athens Int’l Film Festival, Sept ‘08 (Best Script Award), Greece; Ottawa International Animation Festival, Sept ‘08 (Honorable Mention for Best Animated Feature), Canada; Montreal's Festival du nouveau cinéma, Oct ‘08 (Grand Prix Z Télé, Grand Prize chosen by the public), Canada; Expotoons, Oct ‘08 ("First Mention" [runner-up], Feature Films), Buenos Aires, Argentina; Leeds International Film Festival, Nov ‘08 (Golden Owl Competition - Special Mention), UK; Asheville Film Festival, Nov ‘08 (Runner-up, Best Feature, Fiction), NC, USA; Starz Denver Film Festival, Nov ‘08 (Fox 31 Emerging Filmmaker Award), CO, USA; Gotham Independent Film Awards, Dec ‘08 (Best Film Not Playing at a Theater Near You), NYC, NY, USA; Les Nuits Magiques, Dec ‘08 (Audience Award for Best Feature Film), Begles, France, 2008; Santa Fe Film Festival, Dec ‘08 (Best Animation), NM, US Boulder International Film Festival, Feb ‘09 (Best Animated Film), CO, USA; Film Independent’s Spirit Awards, Feb ‘09 (Nominee, Acura Someone to Watch Award), Los Angeles, CA, USA; Fargo Film Festival, March ’09 (Ruth Landfield Award; and Honorable Mention, Best Animation), ND, USA; Festival MONSTRA, March ’09 (Jury’s Special Prize), Lisbon, Portugal; Cairo International Film Festival for Children, March ’09 (Jury’s Special Mention), Cairo, Egypt; Tiburon International Film Festival, March ’09 (Best Animation), Tiburon, CA, USA; Big Cartoon Festival, March ’09 (Grand Prix Sirin), Krasnoyarsk, Russia; ANIMABASAURI5-ANIMABASQUE, March ’09, (Jury Special Award), Bilbao, Spain; Akron Film Festival, April ’09 (Best Feature Film), Akron, OH, USA; Philadelphia CineFest, April ’09 (Archie Award for Best First Time Director), Philadelphia, PA, USA; Salem Film Festival, April ’09 (Grand Jury Award), Salem, OR, USA; Indian Film Festival of Los Angeles, April ’09 (Jury Award for Best Narrative Feature), Los Angeles CA, USA; Talking Pictures Festival, May ’09 (Best Animated Film), Evanston, IL, USA; Silk Screen Film Festival, May ’09 (People’s Choice Award), Pittsburgh, PA, USA; Connecticut Film Festival, June ’09 (Best Animated Film), Danbury, CT, USA; Festival Internacional de Cine DerHumALC, June ’09 (Signis Award, Best Film of the Official Competition), Buenos Aires, Argentina; Indianapolis International Film Festival, July ’09 (American Spectrum Feature Award for best feature film), Indianapolis, IN, USA; Seoul International Cartoon & Animation Festival (SICAF), July ’09 (Jury Special Prize, Feature Films Category), Seoul, Korea; Akron Film Festival, July ‘09 (Best Feature Film), Akron, OH, USA; Hardacre Film and Cinema Festival, August ’09 (Best Narrative Feature), Tipton, IA, USA; International Film Festival NUEVA MIRADA for Youth and Children, Sept ‘09 (Best Animated Film for Youth), Buenos Aires, Argentina; SoDak Animation Festival, October ’09 (Golden Cowbell Award, Best Feature Animation), Brookings, SD, USA.
Nina Paley (b. May 3, 1968, Champaign IL, USA) is a longtime veteran of syndicated comic strips, creating "Fluff" (Universal Press Syndicate), "The Hots" (King Features), and her own alternative weekly "Nina's Adventures." In 1998 she began making independent animated festival films, including the controversial yet popular environmental short, "The Stork." In 2002 Nina followed her then-husband to Trivandrum, India, where she read her first Ramayana. This inspired her first feature, Sita Sings the Blues, which she animated and produced single-handedly over the course of 5 years on a home computer. Nina teaches at Parsons School of Design in Manhattan and is a 2006 Guggenheim Fellow.
FILMOGRAPHY
Sita Sings the Blues 2007 - 2D digital animation. Color.
The Stork 2002- 2D digital animation. 3’ - Color. Video.
The Wit & Wisdom of Cancer 2002 - 2D digital animation. 4’50”. Color. Dialog. Video. Fertco 2002- 2D digital animation. 3’. Color. Video. Goddess of Fertility 2002 - 2D digital animation. 2’. Clay animated on glass. Color. 35mm. Lexi 2002 - 2D digital rotoscope animation and video. 2’50”. Color. Video. Fetch! 2001 - 2D digital animation. 4’50”- minutes. Color. 35mm. Pandorama 2000- Drawing directly on film. 3’. Color. 15perf/70mm (“IMAX”); 35mm printdown for festival exhibition. I (heart) My Cat 1998 - Clay animation. 3’. Color. 16mm. Luv Is..... 1998 - Clay animation. 3.’ 50”. Color. Beta SP / Super-8.
Cancer 1998 - Drawing directly on film. 2’. Color. 35mm.
Nenhum comentário:
Postar um comentário