Netflix, the world’s leading online entertainment platform will soon be releasing ‘Sitara‘, Pakistan’s first animated movie, produced by acclaimed documentarian Sharmeen Obaid Chinoy. “Sitara – Let Girls Dream” will be available to watchers in 190 countries by 2020.
The movie is written and directed by twice Academy and thrice Emmy Award winner, Sharmeen Obaid Chinoy. Sitara takes the audience on the journey through the old city of Lahore, where, Pari, a 14-year old dreams of becoming the pilot and whose story is told through the perspective of her younger sister Mehr.
Netflix will release the animated short Sitara: Let Girls Dream from two-time Oscar winning and three-time Emmy winning director Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy https://t.co/LjNWSiJMUY
— Deadline (@DEADLINE) October 25, 2019
It is a story about the burden placed on the shoulders of the girls and restricted by cultural pressures struggles to achieve their dreams. Surprisingly, ‘Sitara’ is a no dialogue movie, which embodies this struggle. The story of the movie focuses on the impacts of child marriage on children.
“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.
The music for Sitara has been composed by Grammy and Emmy Award-Winning composer Laura Karpman.
Read more: Sharmeen Obaid Chinoy receives an honorary degree from Smith College
Sharmeen Obaid Chinoy is known for producing films that highlight the inequality of women. She is the only woman director to win two Academy awards by the age of 37, and Pakistani to win Academy Award. Since 2001, she has made over two dozen multi-award-winning films in 16 countries around the world. Her films include 3 Bahadur, Student Athlete, Girl In The River, Song of Lahore, Saving Face, Peace Keepers, and Transgenders: Pakistan’s Open Secret.
In 2013, the Canadian government awarded her a Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal for her work in the fields of documentary films and the World Economic Forum honoured her with a Crystal Award at their annual summit in Davos. In 2017, the International Center for Journalists awarded her the Knight International Journalism Award for her work that led to legislative change.