April 29, 2008

One-Woman Animated Feature. Sita Sings the Blues is a new feature-length animated film. Aside from its gorgeous art and music, it's remarkable in that all the animation was done by one woman, both by computer and by hand.

The main link is to a Wired interview with the film's creator Nita Paley, about how the project was developed and the technical aspects of its creation. The official site has breathtaking stills, a trailer, and more information. Sita is a goddess separated from her beloved Lord and husband Rama. Nina is an animator whose husband moves to India, then dumps her by email. Three hilarious shadow puppets narrate both ancient tragedy and modern comedy in this beautifully animated interpretation of the Indian epic Ramayana. Set to the 1920's jazz vocals of Annette Hanshaw, Sita Sings the Blues earns its tagline as "The Greatest Break-Up Story Ever Told."