I usually only list the films here that I've seen in the movie theatre, omitting any DVDs and whatever I catch on the telly, but I'll count this one for several reasons: because I won't be able to see it in a theatre until it has found a distributor, because it's marvelous, and because I received a DVD from the filmmaker herself.
All the credit goes to Roger Ebert, who mentioned the film in his blog and included a link to the film maker's web site - ninapaley.com, the "official site of 'America's best-loved unknown cartoonist'".
Her site for the film, http://www.sitasingstheblues.com/, recounted her trouble getting a distributor due to the copyright issues surrounding the music she used, and said she accepted donations to help her get the film to people. I watched a clip from the film, liked it very much, and thought, alright, sure I'll help! I donated via PayPal and hoped I would get to see "Sita" some time at some film festival - and imagine my surprise when Nina Paley herself sent me an email just a few hours later, thanking me for my donation and asking if I would like a DVD. Hells yeah I did!
I've watched it twice now, with different sets of friends, and I just marvel ... yes I know I already said marvelous above, but it just fits ... I marvel at the animation, at the song selection, and how the different segments (Sita's story, Nina's story, the voice-over discussion of the Ramayana) work together.
Since I first heard about it, Nina Paley has made the entire film available for you to watch online, for free, and has added lots more film festival screenings worldwide. Enjoy!
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