Friday, January 30, 2009

Sita Sings The Blues



I was lucky enough to get to see Sita Sings The Blues yesterday. It's getting a lot of praise. All that praise is deserved. It's funny, moving and generally entertaining.


And it was made by Nina Paley over five years, seemingly pretty much by herself. A whole 82 minutes or whatever it is animated by one person.


Not having the willpower to complete a piece of animation even just 10 seconds long, I have no concept of what it is like to be able to make a feature film on your own. I think you'd want to have no friends, no television, no games, no family, no need for food or money and possibly no need for sleep. And you'd want to be one of the most motivated, stubborn people on the face of the planet. And one of the most talented.


Okay, so I have no friends but, after that, I stop ticking those boxes.


I am in awe of what Ms. Paley has achieved here. And I really hope I get to see this in a cinema packed full of people, as it deserves to be seen.


Amazing, entertaining and guilt-inducing all rolled into one.

7 comments:

Humphrey Erm said...

I know what you mean, I'm currently in the pre production of a short animated film, and I'm not sure if I will be able to finish it...

This movie looks really nice though! And she did it all by herself? Wow...

Mitch Leeuwe said...

That is so right.

Red Pill Junkie said...

*Sniff* I want to see 'Sita...' too! :-(

I have toyed with the idea of getting a Masters in... something. I even considered trying to get a scholarship to study abroad; but a thick mix of laziness & cowardice have put that project on an indefinite limbo...

PS: Good luck on your project, Humphrey; don't give up!

Nina Paley said...

Hey Bitter,

Thanks for the "derivative work" - I love it!

You already have much of what you need to make an animated feature: depression. It's true that no TV also helped, as did no family, and very little dating, and living like a hermit, which felt right at the time. But I did sleep a lot. Naps are "part of my process."

My next animated projects are going to be short though. Short is good. Good luck on your short!

By the way, I'm hoping Sita will be free online in about a month.

Humphrey Erm said...

Thanks Red Pill Junkie. Should I start a production blog about it? :P

Anonymous said...

Thanks for the Hick's clip. I was a stand-up in San Francisco back in the late 70's and early 80's. A bit before Bill's time - but I did work the clubs on the west coast. I wasn't any good at it and when I had the chance to move here to the UK I took it. Love your work, keep it up - there are many of us out here in blogland that think you should express yourself more.

Bitter Animator said...

Thanks Ron! I must admit to being incredibly impressed by anyone who tries stand-up. I thought about it myself once, would love to have tried it and located some open mic nights but chickened out every time. Just couldn't do it.