Nina Paley (USA 2008)

BACK TO 3RD SAN FRANCISCO INTERNATIONAL ANIMATION FESTIVAL

Betty Boop meets bhangra in Nina Paley’s celebrated first feature-length film, which updates the ancient Sanskrit epic Ramayana by weaving the settings of San Francisco’s Potrero Hill and ancient India with the traditions of shadow puppetry, 1920s-era American torch-singing and Bollywood. SFIAF’s Opening Night film—five years in the making and the winner of the Best Feature award at the prestigious Annecy Animated Film Festival—a beautifully animated East-meets-West visual feast that has delighted audiences around the world. The film begins with Paley blissfully slumbering in San Francisco with boyfriend and cat: life is good. But, when said boyfriend takes a job in India, painful matters of the heart ensue. Composed of several narrative and musical threads, the film skips delightfully from era to era and style to style. The faceted aesthetic makes the film a true gem, as Paley turns her own breakup into fodder for a tongue-in-cheek update of the Ramayana—the story of the goddess Sita and her star-crossed relationship with Rama. The musical interludes are set to the music of the irresistible Annette Hanshaw, whose songs intelligently and nostalgically bring into relief what it means to be a modern, yet hopelessly romantic, woman. Sita Sings the Blues succeeds with literal flying colors in showing how an ancient text can transcend societies and generations and be as relevant today as it was 3,000 years ago.

Written by Nina Paley (82 min)    watch clip

November 13, 2008, Landmark’s Embarcadero Center Cinema
7:00 pm, 9:15 pm