Pack your bags because it’s time for another installment of Letterboxd Map! Last time around we were in Paraguay for a horror film, this time we’re in Pakistan for an animated short film with… Sitara: Let Girls Dream (2019).
Title: Sitara: Let Girls Dream
Director: Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy
Released: September 23, 2019 (United States)
Runtime: 15 minutes
Available to stream on: Netflix
Sitara: Let Girls Dream (2019) is a silent animated short film.
In it, we see an older and younger sister playing with both model and paper airplanes. As the story unfolds, we’re able to piece together that the older sister has dreams of one day becoming a pilot.
The only problem is that the girl lives in a society where her dreams don’t matter. At least, not in a culture where her father has already hand-picked a much older husband for her. Unfortunately, it doesn’t even matter if the entire rest of the family is completely against this forced marriage.
While the character animation might not be on-par with other animated films, it doesn’t need to be. The character’s are able to portray emotion through their expressions in a very impactful way. Additionally, the bright and vibrant colors grab and hold your attention.
In fact, given the subject matter, I don’t think this would have been as effective if there were dialogue.
Still, Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy was able to end things with a very powerful message about just how many child brides will never get to see their dreams realized.
Sitara: Let Girls Dream (2019) delivers an important message without speaking a single word.
Have you seen Sitara: Let Girls Dream (2019)?
If so, leave a comment below or reach out to me on Bluesky and let me hear your thoughts on it!
As always, you can follow me over on Letterboxd to keep up with everything else that I’ve been watching lately.