Have blues, will travel through time and space. In April 2009, the Hindu Janajagruti Samiti started a petition calling for a complete ban on the movie and initiation of legal action against all those who have been involved in its production and marketing, believing its portrayal of the Ramayana to be offensive, with some members going so far as to call it "a derogatory act against the entire Hindu community. The production was largely completed by Nina Paley, with support from Jake Friedman in the "Battle of Lanka" scene,[7] primarily using 2D computer graphics and Flash Animation. The different visual styles state and reinforce cultural differences. Bewildered by his callous indifference to their separation, Nina sublets their apartment, leaves their beloved cat behind, and joins her husband in India. Also, it features three cleverly interwoven segments, involving unconditional love and being rejected by a … To conceive of a film like this is a greater miracle. Based on a work at www.sitasingstheblues.com. I've been inventorying and organizing and folding and removing cardboard box shreds with a lint roller since they dumped everything on our doorstep. When you see Sita rising from the ocean on a lotus, you are struck by her beauty and the sheer limpid depths of her eyes. Film Independent's Spirit Awards, Feb 2009, Cairo International Film Festival for Children, March 2009, Jury's Special Mention, Cairo, Egypt. Sita Sings the Blues by Nina Paley is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 United States License. Years later, Rama overhears their hymns of adoration to their father and locates their dwelling. Sita Nina Paley`s ‘Sita Sings the Blues’ is a rewriting of the Ur-Text of the Ramayana and it was released online in 2008. It conveys the kind of restlessness inherent in the story and achieves a more light-hearted, universal tone with its simple, highly stylized renderings of character and environments. Sita Sings the Blues is a 2008 American animated musical romantic comedy-drama film written, directed, produced and animated by American artist Nina Paley. [29], The film has drawn controversy from a number of sides. Having earned the right to any single favor by saving the Dasharatha's life, Kaikeyi attempts to secure her own son's inheritance over the eldest and favorite, Rama, by ordering him banished from the court. Publication date 2008 Usage Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 United States Topics sita, blues, ramayana, annette hanshaw, nina paley Publisher www.sitasingstheblues.com. This is my own DVD version -- UNofficial, but … Festival Internacional de Cine DerHumALC, June 2009. A cornerstone of the distribution model is the "creator-endorsed" logo, developed by Paley in cooperation with QuestionCopyright.org. Hindu groups protest the screening of 'Sita Sings the Blues' - The Times of India, A Filmmaker’s ‘Blues’ Prompts Traditionalists To See Red, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Sita_Sings_the_Blues&oldid=1015335972, Annecy Cristal for a Feature Film winners, Articles with dead external links from October 2015, Short description is different from Wikidata, Articles with unsourced statements from December 2020, Articles with dead external links from July 2020, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License, Athens International Film Festival, Sept. 2008, Best Script Award, Greece. Paley plans to make money through voluntary payments, ancillary products, sponsorships, the aforementioned limited DVD sales, and possibly other methods.[1]. var pageTracker = _gat._getTracker("UA-13102794-6"); Boulder International Film Festival, Feb 2009. All through the motion picture we see that Sita is crying, and is assuming the part of the casualty instead of being solid and following the Dharma of Indian culture. Sita, Rama's wife, determines to accompany her beloved husband, although the woods are dangerous and overrun with demons and evil spirits. ", Sita Sings the Blues has won a number of awards. [10], Without a distributor, Nina Paley was unable to pay the approximately $220,000 that the copyright holders originally demanded. It was an version of the epic Indian tale of Ramayana set to the 1920's jazz vocals of Annette Hanshaw. Nina Paley Paley’s award-winning 2009 animated musical interpretation of the Hindu epic Ramayana has earned widespread critical praise, a 100% rating on RottenTomatoes, and continued places on best-of lists. Gotham Independent Film Awards, Dec 2008. Aided by the monkey prince Hanuman, Rama eventually discovers Sita's location and brings the monkey army to assist in her rescue. [3] They provide context and commentary for the story, which has innumerable incarnations and regional variations. Sita Sings the Blues loosely follows the dominant Valmiki version of the epic. After a month of no contact, he calls to inform his wife that the contract has been extended another year. Indian Film Festival of Los Angeles, April 2009. The whole film is split into four different segments that are interwoven around one another. Sita Sings the Blues is a 2009 artistic retelling of the Ramayana. Sita Sings the Blues is a 2008 American animated musical romantic comedy-drama film written, directed, produced and animated by American artist Nina Paley. [33], In April 2009, the film inspired a Bangkok high fashion line designed by Roj Singhakul, titled "Sita Sings the Blues".[34]. } catch(err) {}, Update In the case of Sita Sings the Blues, Nina Paley set out to to establish a parallel between the life of a contemporary person living in one culture and the lives of divinities from another culture as depicted in an ancient text from that culture. Tiburon International Film Festival, March 2009. In his absence, Ravana abducts Sita and demands that she submit to him on pain of death. Nina Paley’s Sita Sings the Blues. Episodes set to certain songs performed by jazz singer Annette Hanshaw are visualized, with Sita as the singing performer, using the strikingly modern technique of vector graphic animation. "[32] However, in an interview with India-West, she did acknowledge that Lord Ram is not depicted well in the film. Next to her is a whimsical peacock fueled record player, the bird’s beak scratching out the most beautiful music from this to which Sita … I am swept away. Prix Tournage for Best American Feature Film, Honorable Mention for Best Animated Feature, Grand Prix Z Télé, Grand Prize chosen by the public, "First Mention" (runner-up), Feature Films, Best Film Not Playing at a Theater Near You, Archie Award for Best First Time Director, Signis Award, Best Film of the Official Competition, Analysis of different variations of the Ramayana. Cartoonist Nina Paley's inspired tale of love gone wrong cheekily mixes different styles of animation into a jazzy, eye-popping epic of flying monkeys, many-headed demons and love-weary women The film can also be rented via DVD on Netflix as of March 17, 2010. The film uses several different styles of animation to separate and identify the parallel narratives. I'm told it's an animated film directed by a girl from Urbana. Paley is licensed under a Creative "[27], Although The Hollywood Reporter declared the film to be "a rather rarified effort that will probably appeal more to adults than to children," it described it as "charming" and commented that, "Arriving amidst a tidal wave of overblown and frequently charmless big studio efforts, "Sita Sings the Blues" is a welcome reminder that when it comes to animation bigger isn't necessarily better. [18][19] Exclusive right to distribute 35mm and HDCam prints of the film is split between GKIDS[20] for all theaters East of the Mississippi River, and Shadow Distribution[21] for all theaters west of the Mississippi River. Sita Sings the Blues: Four Connecting Movies in One Sita Sings the Blues is an animated version of the epic Indian tale “Ramayana”. Sita Sings the Blues is Nina Paley’s creative interpretation of the Hindu epic, The Ramayana. The human experience is also involved, Sita is not just a Goddess nor is Rama not just portrayed as a God. During these sections, the ideas and contradictions raised over the course of the puppets' discussions are visualized in animated photographic compositions in the background. This work is published from: : "http://www. "[30], When the San Jose Museum of Art screened the film, a protestor said: "I'm very angry about this film and feel very humiliated by the portrayal of Lord Ram in this very perverted way...negative portrayals of Hinduism cause discrimination and religious intolerance. Reena Shah contributed the voice of the Sita character, in addition to choreographing and performing the dance sequences rotoscoped by Paley for the animation. Paley, Nina. It intersperses events from the Ramayana, light-hearted but knowledgeable discussion of historical background by a trio of Indian shadow puppets, musical interludes voiced with tracks by Annette Hanshaw and scenes from the artist's own life. Nov. 2010: Check out my new comic strip Mimi Sita I got a DVD in the mail, an animated film titled "Sita Sings the Blues." Ravana is slain and Sita is restored to her husband, although he expresses serious doubts concerning her fidelity during her confinement. In the film, they serve as a more traditional style of dramatic narrative, although the dialogue is frequently ironic, inappropriately modern, or otherwise humorous. Told through four different animation styles, involving the filmmaker's story, the Sita story, three shadow figures giving humorous commentary on the Sita story, and my personal favorite, parts of the Sita story reflected through the music of a 1920's jazz … The film uses a pared-down adaptation of the legend that retains many of its finer details while adopting a perspective sympathetic towards Sita; in the director's words, the film is "a tale of truth, justice and a woman’s cry for equal treatment."[2]. Rama overhearing one of his subjects beating and ejecting an unfaithful consort (claiming he is no Rama to accept and forgive her unfaithfulness), he reluctantly orders his brother Lakshman to abandon Sita in the forest. Indianapolis International Film Festival, July 2009, This page was last edited on 31 March 2021, at 21:59. The background in each scene is usually static and the poses of each character are kept minimal, with movement achieved by simply transporting the character across the screen in its set position. In fact, Sita Sings the Blues is a wonderful way to keep Hindu mythology alive.” Hindu restiveness over representation of the faith in Western culture has grown over the years. Uh, huh. The slick, bold style – driven by digital animation software – is at odds with the somewhat rustic quality of the old musical recordings but allows close synchronization with the vocals. She accompanies Rama back to the palace and soon falls pregnant. Sita Sings the Blues. [14][15], Due to terms of the music license, one limited DVD pressing of 4,999 copies was printed. Speech is enacted by alternating the set pose of the face with a slightly liquified version where the jaw is lower. pageTracker._trackPageview(); "); Commons Attribution-Share Alike License, http://www.sitasingstheblues.com/license.html. Film Review by Frederic and Mary Ann Brussat. For fans of “Sita Sings the Blues” Ms. Paley’s imaginative leaps and blend of styles are part and parcel of the film’s visual and aural originality. He sends a golden hind, Maricha, past their dwelling to distract Rama, who tries to impress Sita by hunting the hind into the woods. The smooth, repetitive, side-scrolling movement affects assists in suspending the musical episode from the more consistent narrative plot. In an episode taken from the director's own life,[2] animator Nina Paley starts the film living happily in a San Francisco apartment with her husband and cat. That's my home town. [23], Paley has qualified this distribution strategy as a financial success, citing that it earned $132,000 from March 2009 to March 2010. It brings together four entirely separate elements and combines them into a great whimsical chord... To get any film made is a miracle. Upon her arrival, he appears deeply unenthusiastic to be reunited and demonstrates neither affection nor sexual interest. Sita Sings the Blues (2008) Plot. This is all the leftover Sita Sings the Blues merch our previous order fulfillment service sent us when we closed our account. [22] When asked by a media provider on behalf of Netflix in April 2010 if she would also offer the film via the company's on-demand streaming service in exchange for a limited amount of money, Paley requested that the film be streamed either DRM-free or with an addendum telling viewers where the film was available for download. A while later, Nina flies to a meeting in New York, where she receives a brief e-mail from her husband telling her that their relationship is over. Largely for music, copyright clearance and distribution. Sad and alone, she stays in New York, finding comfort in a new cat and her study of the Ramayana. These recordings were protected by state commerce and business laws passed at the time in the absence of applicable federal laws and were never truly "public domain". She submits to a trial by fire, a test of her purity; upon throwing herself into the flames, she is immediately rescued by the gods, who all proclaim her devotion and fidelity. The modern, more personal element to the contemporary part of the story is narrated using the rough, energetic Squigglevision technique of traditional animation. Sita Sings the Blues is an animated movie made a Jewish woman reflecting on a difficult break up through the story of Sita and Rama from the Ramayana. Rotten Tomatoes reports that 100% of critics have given the film a positive review, based on 32 reviews, with an 8.27/10 review average. "[28], The blog Sepia Mutiny reviewed the film noting that it has "lovely, highly stylized characters" and that Paley stayed "reasonably faithful" to the original story. [25], Film critic Roger Ebert of the Chicago Sun-Times enthused, "I am enchanted. "Sita Sings the Blues" is based on the Hindu epic "The Ramayana". Although the filmmaker initially made sure these recordings were not covered by US copyright law,[9] a number of other copyright issues surfaced, including state laws prior to US federal copyright law on recordings, rights to the compositions and the right to synchronize the recordings with images. Paley estimated her total hours of work on the film to 9,360 and calculated she needed 6,240 people to see the 1.5-hour long film to make an "attention profit". "[31], Nina Paley expressed surprise at the adverse reaction, saying "I thought it might be a bit controversial, but I wasn’t fully aware of how art and artists are major targets of some right-wing nationalist groups in India. document.write(unescape("%3Cscript src='" + gaJsHost + "google-analytics.com/ga.js' type='text/javascript'%3E%3C/script%3E")); It satirically tells the story of Rama on his journey to save his wife Sita from the nearly invulnerable king of Lanka, Ravana. The full film can also be viewed in low-resolution streaming video on the web site for WNET, a PBS member station in New York City. Sita Sings the Blues Directed by Nina Paley. Her husband then accepts the offer of a six-month contract working in Trivandrum, India, and moves there alone to take up the position. "[26], The New York Times also praised the film's ingenuity, commenting that "[it] evokes painting, collage, underground comic books, Mumbai musicals and 'Yellow Submarine' (for starters)," and praised Paley for her use of 2D animation: "A Pixar or DreamWorks extravaganza typically concludes with a phone book’s worth of technical credits. Original Score: 3.5/4 'Sita Sings the Blues' Brings out the Bullies 07/25/2011 04:13 pm ET Updated Sep 24, 2011 Last week in Queens, young Hindu-American organized a screening and discussion of an animated film called "Sita Sings the Blues," to draw other young Hindus and Sikhs into conversation about their faiths. "Sita's free: Landmark copyleft animated film is now licensed CC0", "Having a wonderful time, wish you could hear", "Nina Paley's Epic Breakups: Good Women Done Wrong in India". The enforcement of a unitary notion of the Ramayana strips away at these multitudes. I … To the extent possible under law, Distribution Project  QuestionCopyright.org, var gaJsHost = (("https:" == document.location.protocol) ? Surname 1 Name Professor Course Date Sita Sings the Blues and Ethnocentrism Introduction Sita Sings the Blues is a modern recapping of Ramayana and passes through various animation styles to describe the story through the sad personality of Sita, who is saved, rejected, and exiled by her husband, Rama. [12][13], On January 18, 2013, Paley announced that she has changed the Creative Commons license for the film from "CC-BY-SA" (the Creative Commons Attribution-Share-alike 3.0 Unported license) to "CC-0" (public domain); she made the ownership rights change in response to the continual red tape of rights procurement, even under the share-alike license. The plot joins the legend at the exile of the prince Rama from the kingdom of Ayodhya, at the behest of king Dasharatha's favorite queen, Kaikeyi. beyond the scope of this license may be available at In the company of ascetics owned by the Sage Valmiki, she gives birth to her twin sons, Lava and Kusha and raises them to love and praise their absent father. Nina Paley: "Ahimsa: Sita Sings the Blues now CC-0 “Public Domain”", January 18, 2013. The ancient mythological and modern biographical plot are parallel tales, sharing numerous themes. In addition to the central numbers recorded by Hanshaw, music was provided by Rohan, Rudresh Mahanthappa, Nik Phelps, Todd Michaelsen, and Reena Shah of the duo My Pet Dragon and by Pierre-Jean Duffour, composer and musician for the band Masaladosa. Distressed and disappointed by Rama's actions during her reunion with Rama, Sita prays to the earth goddess, Bhumi-Devi, to swallow her as final proof of her purity and devotion, and the prayer is duly answered, despite the pleas of Rama and Lakshman. Showing all 3 items Jump to: Summaries (2) Synopsis (1) Summaries. try { The so-called spectacular success of “Sita sings the blues”[2], by Nina Paley, an American non-Hindu woman, raises questions as superior indigenous-made animation films based on the Ramayana, like Hanuman[3], have not received even a passing mention in the Western press. Roger Ebert wrote of it, “I am enchanted. Nina Paley's delicious Sita Sings the Blues finds solace in autobiography and an animated gold mine in the caverns of an ancient Sanskrit epic. Sita Sings the Blues is a 2008 American animated musical romantic comedy-drama film written, directed, produced and animated by American artist Nina Paley. Aseem Chhabra, Bhavana Nagulapally, and Manish Acharya provided the voices for three silhouettes, traditional Indian shadow puppets. [1], In July 2011, Nina Paley made a protest video regarding the film's deletion from YouTube in Germany due to what she regards as fraudulent take-down notice under the aegis of GEMA, Germany's major music and performance rights organization,[11] but which may be an instance of a larger on-going conflict regarding copyright and royalties between YouTube and GEMA. The movie was released on February 11, 2008 and directed, produced, and written by Nina Paley. [8], The film uses a number of 1920s Annette Hanshaw recordings. Montreal's Festival du nouveau cinéma, Oct. 2008, Leeds International Film Festival, Nov. 2008, Golden Owl Competition - Special Mention, UK. [citation needed], Since its release, Sita Sings the Blues has attracted limited but consistent acclaim from critics. Nina Paley "[31] Another protestor at the same event suggested: "Trying to promote India's rich culture in such a way is appalling. I always imagine an audience of smart, compassionate people I’d enjoy spending time with. Share. Arriving amidst a tidal wave of overblown and frequently charmless big studio efforts, "Sita Sings the Blues" is a welcome reminder that when it comes to animation bigger isn't necessarily better. has waived all copyright and related or neighboring rights to However, controversy over the film was immediately sparked as certain Hindu groups accused the European-American woman of appropriating Indian culture. It is astonishingly original. Nina Paley has made this a very thought provoking movie. Nov. 2010: Check out my new comic strip, Creative At least that seems to be a major theme in Sita Sings the Blues, an incomparably unique animated feature that combines ancient Hindu mythology, a 1920s blues singer, and one artist’s failed marriage to tell the story of a every woman who lets a man walk all over her. [4], The voices are clearly contemporary and somewhat irreverent, unlike their visualisations, which further establishes the theme of contrast between "ancient tragedy and modern comedy";[5] Chhaya Natak shadow theatre, for example, was commonly used in retellings of the Ramayana.[6]. Sita Sings The Blues tells the story of Rama and Sita with a very interesting twist. Sita Sings the Blues Not Rated | 1h 22min | Animation , Comedy , Fantasy | 12 August 2009 (France) An animated version of the epic Indian tale of Ramayana set … The site's consensus reads: "A tour de force for filmmaker Nina Paley, Sita Sings the Blues gives the Ramayana its animated due with a visually vibrant, dazzlingly imaginative triumph". When the internet television service refused to meet these conditions due to a "No Bumpers" policy, Paley refused to accept their offer, citing her desire to uphold her principled opposition to DRM. WNET broadcast the film on March 7, 2009. However, the story is narrated and commented upon by three faceless narrators, who recount the story of the epic from memory – completely unscripted. The demon king Ravana, encouraged by his spiteful ogress sister, Shurpanakha, hears of Sita's beauty and determines to kidnap her. 1pm: Sita Sings the Blues 2009 Dir. It intersperses events from the Ramayana, light-hearted but knowledgeable discussion of historical background by a trio of Indian shadow puppets, musical interludes voiced with tracks by Annette Hanshaw and scenes from the artist's own life. Hindus, Strongly Protest against movie denigrating Devi Sita! It is an unconventional animated musical that was completely produced by one person over the course of 5 years. Nina Paley is an animator whose husband moves to India, then dumps her by email. United States. I am smiling from one end of the film to the other. Update & Eunice! Sita is a goddess separated from her beloved Lord and husband Rama. Sings the Blues by Nina The ancient mythological and modern biographical plot are parallel tales, sharing numerous themes. Sita remains staunchly devoted to Rama and refuses to entertain the idea; Ravana sets a deadline for the ultimatum and Sita waits faithfully for Rama to rescue her. [16] The film was released for free download starting in early March, 2009 "at all resolutions, including broadcast-quality, HD and film-quality image sequences", at the time licensed under "CC-BY-SA". DVD VERSION! Sita Sings the Blues uses images and art covering two thousand years of history and culture. Sita Sings the Blues by Nina Paley. An animated version of the epic Indian tale of Ramayana set to the 1920s jazz vocals of Annette Hanshaw. Nina Paley's delicious Sita Sings the Blues finds solace in autobiography and an animated gold mine in the caverns of an ancient Sanskrit epic. Technically, Sita Sings the Blues is a wonderful achievement. Episodes with dialogue from the Ramayana are enacted using painted figures of the characters in profile, which strongly resemble the 18th-century Indian tradition of Rajput painting. They link episodes of the Ramayana with a lively, unscripted discussion of their personal impressions and knowledge of the epic. http://www.sitasingstheblues.com/license.html. Twitter Facebook Link Print. Ottawa International Animation Festival, Sept. 2008. The history of womankind is a broken record as the same damn things keeping happening over and over again. It is titled Sita Sings the Blues. on a work at www.sitasingstheblues.com.Permissions Paley took out a loan to license the music in early 2009. "https://ssl." In Sita Sings the Blues, Paley has an alternate, customized picture of Sita. Sita Sings The Blues features Sita, Rama, Dasharatha, Ravana, Valmiki, Ex-husband, Mareecha, Hanuman, Luv, Kush, Surphanakha, Kaikeyi, Shadow Puppets. I know nothing about it, and the plot description on IMDb is not exactly a barn-burner: An animated version of the epic Indian tale of Ramayana set to … Sita Sings the Blues is a very independent animated film that portrays a portion of the Hindu epic the Ramayana.It was created by Nina Paley, and the film is, remarkably, almost a solo effort. Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 United States License.Based [24] The film also holds a score of 94 on the review aggregator website Metacritic based on 11 reviews, indicating "Universal acclaim". Ms. Paley did everything in “Sita” — an amazingly eclectic, 82-minute tour de force — by herself. But this isn’t a normal movie, it is cut up into four different artistic styles that blend. An animated film about the heartbreaks of a Hindu goddess and a contemporary woman who share the sadness accompanying a romantic breakup. The Rajput style of brush painting was principally enacted on manuscripts and commonly employed in the telling of epics such as the Ramayana. Although anyone is free to distribute the film, distributors who do so while giving a part of the profits to the artist can get the artist's endorsement and use the "creator-endorsed" logo on their promotional materials. Eventually, a fee of $50,000 was negotiated. [17] The freely downloaded files counted as "promotional copies" and were exempt from payments to the copyright holders of the songs.[1]. She added to the source: "No one has to like it. Permissions beyond the scope of this license may be available at http://www.sitasingstheblues.com/license.html. 2008 Usage Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 United States Topics Sita, Blues, will travel through time space. Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 United States license on manuscripts and commonly employed in the mail, an animated titled! 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