Netflix, the world’s leading Internet entertainment service, has released Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy’s SITARA: LET GIRLS DREAM, which is available in over 190 countries. SITARA marks the first Pakistani Animated Film to be released and distributed by NETFLIX USA.
Written and directed by two-time Academy and three-time Emmy Award-winning director Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy, SITARA: LET GIRLS DREAM takes the audience on a journey through the old city of Lahore, where, Pari, a fourteen-year-old girl dreams of becoming a pilot and whose story is told through the perspective of her younger sister, Mehr. 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.
“Waadi Animations is proud to have created an animated short that is at par with the best of the world and we are delighted that SITARA will be available to a global audience on Netflix. We hope it will lead to thoughtful discussions as we also begin screening the film in schools and community centers around the world. We strongly believe that Investing in the dreams of young girls will lead to a more equitable world.” said Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy.
SITARA won three awards at the Los Angeles Animation Festival (LAAF) 2019 in the categories of Best Produced Screenplay, Best Music Score and the Humanitarian Award.It is the only animation film from Pakistan to have won three awards at LAAF 2019.
Chinoy had earlier launched a campaign with GUCCI’s social impact initiative Chime for Change to #LetGirlsDream by encouraging girls around the world to share their dreams and gain inspiration from one another. A robust school outreach program is already underway across the world to encourage girls to hold meaningful conversations about their dreams and how to achieve them. More details for this campaign at www.LetGirlsDream.org.
The music for SITARA has been composed by Grammy and Emmy Award-Winning composer Laura Karpman. Finances and produced by VICE Studios, 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’, VICE Media Group CEO Nancy Dubuc, and Emmy-nominated Ariel Wengroff as well as Sharmeen’s animation production company Waadi Animation with Imke Fehrmann as the producer for SITARA: LET GIRLS DREAM.
In Pakistan, the Waadi Animations Team 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, Imke Fehrmann and Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy as producers.
Indeed, SITARA: LET GIRLS DREAM joins a growing slate of Netflix animated titles for families, which includes feature films ‘Klaus’ from Sergio Pablos [November 2019] as well as ‘The Willoughbys’ from Kris Pearn and ‘Over The Moon’ from Glen Keane in 2020.
