Sita Sings the Blues (2008)

An animated version of the epic Indian tale of Ramayana set to the 1920s jazz vocals of Annette Hanshaw.

Director:

Nina Paley

Writers:

Nina Paley, Valmiki (book)

Stars:

Annette Hanshaw, Aseem Chhabra, Bhavana Nagulapally

7 wins & 3 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview:
Annette Hanshaw	...	Sita (singing) (archive sound)
Aseem Chhabra	...	Narrator - Shadow Puppet 1 (voice)
Bhavana Nagulapally	...	Narrator - Shadow Puppet 2 (voice)
Manish Acharya	...	Narrator - Shadow Puppet 3 (voice)
Reena Shah	...	Sita (voice)
Sanjiv Jhaveri	...	Dave / Dasharatha / Ravana / Dhobi / Valmiki (voice)
Pooja Kumar	...	Surphanaka (voice)
Debargo Sanyal	...	Rama (voice)
Alaudin Ullah	...	Mareecha / Hanuman (voice) (as Aladdin Ullah)
Nitya Vidyasagar	...	Luv / Kush (voice)
Nina Paley	...	Nina (voice)
Deepti Gupta	...	Kaikeyi (voice)

Storyline

The movie is about Sita, the Hindu Goddess from the epic "The Ramayana", who accompanies Lord Rama on a 14 year exile in forest. Sita is abducted by Ravana, the ruler of Lanka. This movie tells the story of Rama and Sita, along-with a biographical account of the director's relationship with her husband.

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Plot Keywords:

title directed by female | based on folktale | cutout animation | 1920s | work abroad | 

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Taglines:

The Greatest Break-Up Story Ever Told.

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Genres:

Animation | Comedy | Fantasy | Musical | Romance

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Certificate:

Not Rated

Did You Know?

Trivia

The intermission in the movie is a tribute to Bollywood, the Indian Film Industry.

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Goofs

The musicians are shown playing with the left and right hands reversed. The clarinet, like all woodwinds, is played with the left hand at the top. The violin is held with the left hand and bowed with the right. But in the movie, the clarinet player has the right hand at the top, and the violin is held with the right and bowed with the left.

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Quotes

Narrator - Shadow Puppet 3: [as Sita] Rama will come here, and you still have one last chance, because once he comes here... You know... Your ass is grass.

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Crazy Credits

Genetic Engineer - Dr. Michael Purugganan Nanoscale Coordinator - Stefan Zauscher

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Connections

References Batman (1966)

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Soundtracks

Rama's Great
Music by R. Sukhdeo (ASCAP)
Lyrics by Nina Paley
Vocals by Nitya Vidyasagar & Rohan
Composed and Performed by Rohan
OmLand Publishing (ASCAP)

User Reviews

Terrific Film!!!

I saw 32 films in just under 2 weeks at this year's Chicago International Film Festival & SITA SINGS THE BLUES was one of the very best on the entire schedule (& believe me, there were lots of contenders). Paley uses great technique (including four diverse styles of animation) to tell a poignant story that every woman who has ever been in love will certainly understand.

This is a great artistic accomplishment: creatively distilling intense personal pain into great art! BRAVO, Nina!!!

For more on this year's CIFF, see my blog: http://www.thehotpinkpen.com/?p=725

Details

Official Sites:

Official site Official site [France]

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

12 August 2009 (France)

Also Known As:

I sita tragoudaei ta blues

Box Office

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$12,619

Company Credits

Production Co:

Adam DeZayas Pictures

Technical Specs

Runtime:

82 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1