Cartoon Brew TV #17: Sita Sings the Blues Preview

We’ve got a special treat today on Cartoon Brew TV. Instead of our usual short film presentation, we’re offering an 11-minute excerpt from Nina Paley’s animated feature Sita Sings the Blues. Regular readers of Cartoon Brew already know that both Brewmasters are huge fans of this animated film which is a startlingly original mashup of Indian mythology, contemporary heartbreak and 1920s American jazz.

We’ve praised it a number of times on the website, including here and here. Another big fan of the film is Roger Ebert who will be showing Sita at his Illinois film festival in April.

The film, however, cannot be distributed because of copyright issues related to its use of songs recorded by Annette Hanshaw eighty years ago. Paley, who made the film entirely by herself and is currently in debt, cannot afford to legally license the music. She is exploring alternative distribution models but for the moment the film is only playing in select festival venues.

This excerpt is from the start of the film and offers a glimpse of the different animation styles used throughout the film.The director, Nina Paley, will be participating in the Brew comments if you have any questions for her. For more information, visit the film’s website at SitaSingstheBlues.com or NinaPaley.com.