Sitara: Let Girls Dream
{{short description|2020 short film}}
{{Use Pakistani English|date=July 2020}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=July 2020}}
{{Infobox film
| name = Sitara: Let Girls Dream
| image = Sitara poster.jpg
| caption = Film poster
| director = Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy
| producer = Gloria Steinem
| writer = Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy
| starring =
| music = Laura Karpman
| cinematography =
| editing =
| production_companies = {{Plainlist|
- Netflix
- Waadi Animations
}}
| distributor = Netflix
| released = {{film date|df=yes|2020|3|8}}
| runtime = 15 minutes
| country = {{Plainlist|
- Pakistan
}}
| language = English
| budget =
| gross =
}}
Sitara: Let Girls Dream ({{langx|ur|{{Nq|ستارہ: لڑکیوں کو خواب دیکھنے دو}}}}) is a 2020 Pakistani animated short film directed and written by Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy. The film attempts to spotlight the issue of child marriage.{{cite web |url=https://decider.com/2020/03/12/sitara-let-girls-dream-on-netflix-stream-it-or-skip-it/ |title=Stream It Or Skip It: 'Sitara: Let Girls Dream' on Netflix, a Short Animated Film About a Pakistani Child Bride |access-date=2020-06-18 |website=Decider |date=12 March 2020 }}{{cite web |url=https://dbknews.com/2020/03/09/sitara-let-girls-dream-sharmeen-obaid-chinoy-movie-review/ |title=Review: 'Sitara: Let Girls Dream' portrays unfortunate reality for many girls |access-date=2020-06-18 |website=The Diamondback|date=10 March 2020 }}
Plot
In the 1970s, in the old city of Lahore, lives Pari, a fourteen-year-old girl who dreams of becoming a pilot. She treasures her book about trailblazer Amelia Earhart and flies pretend planes with her younger sister Mehr, unaware of the building tension between her parents. The reason for the tension soon becomes clear: Pari is being forced to marry a much older man. Her fate after the marriage ceremony is only hinted at, but Mehr joins her mother in her accusatory attitude towards her father, and even her brother brushes off the father's attempts at male camaraderie with him. The film is silent, but at its close, a written message appears: "Around the world every year, the dreams of 12 million child brides will never take flight". As the credits roll, a series of still illustrations tell another story of hope: The father has learned his lesson and sends Mehr to school. She graduates and becomes a pilot, flying away in a plane and wearing an outfit just like Amelia Earhart's.
Production
The film was produced by Obaid-Chinoy's production company, Waadi Animations.{{Cite web|title=About Netflix - NETFLIX TO RELEASE ANIMATED SHORT FILM SITARA: LET GIRLS DREAM FROM AWARD-WINNING DIRECTOR SHARMEEN OBAID-CHINOY|url=https://about.netflix.com/,%20https://about.netflix.com/en/news/netflix-to-release-animated-short-film-sitara-let-girls-dream-from-award-winning-director-sharmeen-obaid-chinoy|access-date=2021-02-24|website=About Netflix}}{{Dead link|date=December 2024 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }} The team faced multiple challenges to create a high-level animation film in Pakistan, where there is little film education and thus few animation professionals, a dearth of equipment and software of the types and quality needed,Sitara: Let Girls Dream - The Making Of, Netflix and faulty infrastructure.{{Cite web|last=Tangcay|first=Jazz|date=2019-12-08|title='Sitara: Let Girls Dream' Director Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy Talks Empowering Girls in Pakistan|url=https://variety.com/2019/artisans/awards/sharmeen-obaid-chinoy-sitara-let-girls-dream-pakistan-1203428633/|access-date=2021-02-24|website=Variety}} According to Obaid-Chinoy:
{{Blockquote|text=“Our machines are old. You are beholden to the machines that you use. You are beholden to power cuts that take place for hours on end. You are beholden to machines that often break down... We would often put things on render and come back in the morning and they wouldn’t have rendered.”|author=|title=|source=}}
The team began their work in 2012, sometimes watching YouTube tutorials, sometimes having the benefit of Pixar contants assisting over Skype. By 2019, they had a film ready for release, and Sitara became the first Pakistani animated film to be released and distributed by Netflix USA.{{Cite web|last=Khan|first=Manal Faheem|date=2020-03-12|title=Sharmeen Obaid's 'Sitara' is Pakistan's first animated film to be released by Netflix USA|url=https://cutacut.com/2020/03/12/sharmeen-obaids-sitara-is-pakistans-first-animated-film-to-be-released-by-netflix-usa/|access-date=2021-02-24|website=cutacut}}
Release
Gucci hosted a special screening for the film at 2020 Sundance Film Festival in connection to their campaign #LetGirlsDream. It was released on 8 March 2020 on Netflix on the occasion of International Women's Day.
Awards
The film won three awards at the 2019 Los Angeles Animation Festival, for Best Produced Screenplay, Best Music Score and the Humanitarian Award.{{Cite web|title=Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy's Sitara wins 3 awards at LA festival {{!}} SAMAA|url=https://www.samaa.tv/entertainment/2019/12/sharmeen-obaid-chinoys-sitara-wins-3-awards-at-la-festival/|access-date=2021-02-24|website=Samaa TV}}
References
{{reflist}}
External links
- {{Netflix title}}
- {{IMDb title|11064862}}
Category:2020 animated short films
Category:Pakistani animated short films
Category:2020 computer-animated films
Category:Pakistani animated films
Category:2020s English-language films
Category:Animated films set in Asia
Category:Animated films set in the 1970s