Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy’s latest animated short film, Sitara: Let Girls Dream has received international recognition recently as the film won three awards at the Los Angeles Animation Festival 2019 (LAAF), held in North Hollywood on 8th December.
Sitara bagged accolades for the Best Produced Screenplay, Best Music Score along with the Humanitarian Award, making it the only Pakistani animation to have won three awards at LAAF 2019.
Written and directed by Sharmeen, the short film explores the important subject of child marriages; it takes us on a journey through Lahore, where a 14-year-old girl — Pari — resides and has lofty dreams of becoming a pilot which are shattered when she is married off. Narrated through the perspective of Pari’s younger sister — Mehr — it is a silent film that reflects the struggle of girls in a suffocating society.
“We at Waadi Animations are delighted to be able to represent Pakistan on a global stage and honored that our film Sitara: Let Girls Dream is being recognized – our artists and animators have worked very hard to create this special film and we are excited to share it with the world.†said Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy in a press statement.
Talking about the project, Sharmeen said earlier: “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.”
The film is also the first Pakistani animated film to be released and distributed by Netflix USA on 8th March 2020, and will be available to stream in over 190 countries.
