Synopsis

Hindu goddess, Sita was a devoted wife who followed her beloved husband and king into hermitage for 14 years. But when she is kidnapped by an evil king from Sri Lanka and saved, her husband doubts her faithfulness. Although she claims to her innocence, the king eventually banishes her into the woods. Meanwhile, an animator living in contemporary New York, Nina receives an e-mail from her husband in India to end the relationship. On a trip to India with her husband in 2002, director, Nina Paley encounters for the first time, the Indian epic poetry, *Ramayana* and inspired by it, she spends five years to create a beautiful musical animated film. Discovering the similarities between Sita’s tragic marriage and her own, the director incorporates this observation into her film. She presents three shadow puppets with Indian accents to narrate the stories of Sita who lived during ancient times and the modern day Nina who is the director herself. The songs that Sita sings are those from American jazz vocalist, Annette Hanshaw who was active during the 1920s. And the director cleverly combines the lyrics and the narrative with this approach. With scenes where the ancient Hindu goddess dances as she sings the Blues or the intermission scenes recalling Bollywood films, director Nina Paley’s humor and originality shines throughout the film. (Chung Woochung)

Director

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  • Nina Paley
  • Born in 1968 in Illinois, USA. She has been publishing cartoons in newspapers for many years, and since 1998, she has been creating independent animations for film festivals. Her representative work includes the controversial yet popular environmental short *The Stork*. In 2002, she first read *Ramayana* and, inspired by it, directed *Sita Sings the Blues*. This work, completed over five years, has been screened at film festivals around the world and has garnered attention. Nina is currently a professor at the Parsons School of Design in Manhattan, New York.