Two-time Academy and three-time Emmy
Award-winning director Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy’s proudly reveals her latest
animation film, SITARA: LET GIRLS DREAM which opened in theaters in New York on September 23rd, 2019. The
fifteen-minute animated short film chronicles the life of a young girl whose
dream of being a pilot is crushed when she is forced into child marriage.
Written
and directed by Sharmeen, SITARA: LET GIRLS DREAM takes
the audience on a journey through the old city of Lahore where a fourteen-year
old girl, Pari, dreams of becoming a pilot. Her story is
told through the perspective of her six-year-old sister Mehr, who
is unaware of the traditions and barriers that lay in the path of women
from her family. It is a story about
the burdens of a family and the impact of a culture where
girls are still struggling to fully realize their dreams. SITARA is
a silent film [no dialogues] which embodies this struggle.
“Young girls everywhere still face
considerable hurdles in achieving their dreams. SITARA embodies that struggle, it is a story of Pari, a young
girl who dreams of becoming a pilot and is robbed of it. For me, SITARA is more than a film,
it is a movement that we want to start across the world, that encourages
parents to invest in their girls’ dreams, encouraging them to free their girls
from the burdens of early marriage”. said Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy.
The
music for SITARA has been composed by Emmy Award-Winning composer Laura Karpman.
Recorded and mixed at the world’s most famous and iconic studio, Abbey Road
studios, Karpman’s score has been paramount in bringing the film’s story and
characters to life.
The
film’s Executive Producers include Gloria Steinem, the iconic women’s rights
activist, and Darla Anderson, the Academy Award Winning producer of Coco and
Toy Story 3.
SITARA: LET GIRLS DREAM, is produced under the banner of Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy’s animation
company, Waadi Animations entirely in Pakistan, from its concept to execution
in association with Vice Studios and Gucci’s CHIME FOR CHANGE.
In
Pakistan, the Waadi Animations Tea is spearheaded by Art Director Salman Nasir,
Animation Director Kamran Khan, CG Lighting Supervisor Adnan Saeed, Director of
Photography Faizan Ali, Editor Husain Qaizer, Sound Effects Editor Sameer Khan,
co-producer Eleyna Sara Haroun and Associate Producer Syed Ayub with Salman
Iqbal, Jerjees Seja and Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy as the producers.
Every
year, 12 million girls around the world are married off as child brides denying
them the right to education and an opportunity to
fulfil their dreams. With SITARA: LET GIRLS DREAM, Sharmeen
hopes to start a global conversation, encouraging parents and families to
invest in their girls’ dreams.
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