If you haven’t seen Sita Sings the Blues, it’s the perfect thing to watch if you think Creative Commons is for people who can’t get a contract with a “real” production house, or that crowdfunding is for artists who aren’t good enough to get “real” sponsors. This is one of the best features I’ve seen all year. Of course it’s free, so you’re not risking any money, and I personally guarantee it’s worth your time. Do yourself a favour and download the best quality version your bandwidth can handle (i.e. not YouTube). Watch it when you’re in the mood for an intelligent, light comedy.
My favourite part is that Nina Haley is a self-taught animator, and she made the entire film at home on her Mac, using Flash and After Effects, and scanning in some hand-painted watercolours.
I was not all that familiar with the Ramayana before this, nor the music of Annette Hanshaw, but now I want to know everything about both.