Sita Sings the Blues

(photo from Ninapaley.com)

I came across this extraordinarily creative endeavor by chance (and through a friend). Nina Paley is a gifted animator who took her personal story and layered it with the Hindu epic, the Ramayana to make a phenomenal story called Sita Sings the Blues. It brings together beautiful animation styles, blues music, shadow puppetry, and humor into a modern version of the ancient epic.

There are a few inaccuracies in the story of the Ramayana, but by-and-large Paley gets the point across very well; and I greatly appreciated the creativity and art of her final product.

Probably most impressively, Paley has released the entire length of the film under a "creative commons" License so that anyone anywhere can view it. You can also download pictures and make your own merchandise out of it. Unfortunately I can't embed the film. But you can view it in its entire length here.

I HIGHLY, HIGHLY recommend watching it.

Finally, here is Paley's personal website and the Sita Sings the Blues website. A teaser is also embedded below.



(Hat tip to Chickpea at the Garbanzo Bean)