November Sita screenings

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We have a whole mess o’ festival screenings coming up in November. The ones I will actually be at, in person:

NEW YORK, Nov 8 and 9:

Saturday, Nov. 8, 11:00 am
Sunday, Nov. 9, 11:00 am
IFC Center (323 6th Ave @W 4th St., Greenwich Village)

These matinee screenings are part of the New York Children’s Film Festival. (Sita isn’t exactly a kid’s movie, but it plays very well to older kids and teens and their parents)

SAN FRANCISCO, Nov. 13:

Nov. 13: 7:00 pm and 9:15 pm with a reception in between.
Opening the San Francisco International Animation Festival
Landmark’s Embarcadero Center Cinema (Battery @ Clay st, downtown SF)

NEW YORK again:

Thursday Nov. 20, 6:00 pm
Saturday Nov. 22, 3:00 pm

MoMA (11 W. 53 Street, between 5th & 6th aves)
In the Film exhibition Best Film Not Playing at a Theater Near You (Gotham Award nominees)

Monday November 24: Panel Discussion
The five nominees for this year’s Best Film Not Playing at a Theater Near You award gather for a panel discussion illustrated with film clips. Program 90 min.
MoMA‘s Theater 3, mezzanine, Education & Research Center

More November screenings that I won’t be able to attend, but I hope you go if you’re in the area:

Ft. Lauderdale (FL) Int’l Film Festival, Nov 7
World Film Festival of Bangkok (Thailand), Oct 24-Nov 2
Winnipeg Animation Festival (MN, Canada), Oct 29-Nov 2
Festival voix d’Etoiles (France), Oct 30-Nov 2
Moscow Big Cartoons Festival (Russia), Nov 1-16
Leeds Int’l Film Festival (UK), Nov 4-16
Holland Animation Festival (The Netherlands), Nov 5-9
Asheville Film Festival (NC), Nov 6-9
Flip Animation Festival (UK), Nov 6-8
Olympia Film Festival (WA), Nov 14
Beyond Borders Film Festival, (MN), Nov 15

Check out the occasionally-updated full screening list here.

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Congratulations to Greg Sextro

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Greg Sextro was Sita‘s sound designer, and my closest collaborator on the film. He also did the sound design for Bill Plympton‘s latest feature, Idiots and Angels, which just won BEST SOUND at the 2nd Annual 2morrow International Festival of Contemporary Cinema in Moscow. Yay!

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יום האנימציה הבין לאומי

I never learned Hebrew so I don’t know what that headline means – I just cut and pasted the name of the jpeg Gilat sent me. I do know Sita Sings the Blues will screen with Hebrew subtitles at Holon Cinimateq/Animateq on November 12 for Animation Day. I won’t be there (I’ll be in San Francisco) but my ASIFA-Israel friends will be. Tell your Hebrew-knowing friends!

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Publicity Bitch sez: Awards!

It doesn’t come off as humble, but my alter-ego Publicity Bitch has some exciting awards news about Sita Sings the Blues.

First, from the the 37th Festival du Nouveau Cinéma in Montreal:

the prestigious Z Télé Grand Prize – prestigious because it is voted upon by those who actually buy tickets to films in the festival – went to Sita Sings the Blues, Nina Paley’s riotous animated musical appropriation of the Indian lit classic, Ramayana, billed as “the Greatest Break-Up Story Ever Told.” (link)

Thank you, Montreal!

Second, today IFP announced its nominees for the 2008 Gotham Awards:

Best Film Not Playing at a Theater Near Youâ„¢

Afterschool
Antonio Campos, director; Josh Mond, Sean Durkin, producers
Meadowlark
Taylor Greeson, producer/director
The New Year Parade
Tom Quinn, director; Steve Beal, Tom Quinn, producers
Sita Sings the Blues
Nina Paley, producer/director
Wellness
Jake Mahaffy, director; Jake Mahaffy, Jeff Clark, producers

Thanks, IFP!

And as always, big thanks to you friends, supporters, and viewers for helping my little film make its way in the world.

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Meet Aseem Chhabra!

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In addition to being a professional journalist, desi cultural maven, and all-around entertaining guy, Aseem was the voice of “Shadow Puppet #1” in Sita Sings the Blues. He’ll be representing the film at some upcoming Southern California screenings*:

Monday, Oct. 13, 8:30 pm
RedCat Cinema
631 W. 2nd St., Los Angeles CA

Thursday, October 16, 7:00pm
with sound designer Greg Sextro!
ArtPower at UC San Diego/The Loft
9500 Gilman Drive #0078, La Jolla, CA 92093

Have a great time, you crazy kids!

 

*which I’m sitting out due to illness

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Best Script in Athens!

Sita Sings the Blues won Best Script at the Athens International Film Festival. It’s an honor I credit to Sita’s talented collaborators, especially Manish Acharya, Aseem Chhabra and Bhavana Nagulapally, who improvised all the narration.

Sita also received an Honorable Mention for “Best Animated Feature Film” at the Ottawa Animation Festival.

So the film is in excellent health, even while I am a quivering wreck.

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