Latest feature Films
Sultana's Dream
The film tells the story of Inés, an animation artist from Spain, who stumbles across the book “Sultana’s Dream” while in India. She is fascinated by the book because it describes a matriarchal utopia at the beginning of the 20th century, in which women rule a peaceful and safe country while the men have to stay at home. Inés embarks on a journey to find the location of this utopia and in doing so, unleashes her own dreams.
The story is told in a lively and passionate fashion thanks to the animation technique of watercolours and henna drawings. It is interwoven with various subplots, including the story of the author of “Sultana’s Dream”, Rokeya Hossain, depicted in cut-out style, reminiscent of animation artist Lotte Reiniger’s works. Indian folkloric sounds lend the story an even more intense oriental touch than Reiniger’s 100-year-old works.
All together, the various narrative strands of “Sultana’s Dream” create a multi-layered work of art whose poetic language is at once sensuous and intellectual.
“Sultana’s Dream” celebrated its world premiere at the San Sebastián International Film Festival in 2023, in the Spanish hometown of filmmaker Isabel Herguera, where it was the first animated film to be selected for the competition. Herguera is no newcomer to Fantoche: her short film “Amar” garnered the awards for Best Visual and Best Sound in the International Competition in 2011. (Antje Czudaj)
The story is told in a lively and passionate fashion thanks to the animation technique of watercolours and henna drawings. It is interwoven with various subplots, including the story of the author of “Sultana’s Dream”, Rokeya Hossain, depicted in cut-out style, reminiscent of animation artist Lotte Reiniger’s works. Indian folkloric sounds lend the story an even more intense oriental touch than Reiniger’s 100-year-old works.
All together, the various narrative strands of “Sultana’s Dream” create a multi-layered work of art whose poetic language is at once sensuous and intellectual.
“Sultana’s Dream” celebrated its world premiere at the San Sebastián International Film Festival in 2023, in the Spanish hometown of filmmaker Isabel Herguera, where it was the first animated film to be selected for the competition. Herguera is no newcomer to Fantoche: her short film “Amar” garnered the awards for Best Visual and Best Sound in the International Competition in 2011. (Antje Czudaj)
Info
Duration 86'
Country ES/DE, 2023
Appointments & Tickets
Thu 5.9. • 20:45
Cinema Trafo 3
Fri 6.9. • 18:30
Cinema Trafo 3*OUT
Sun 8.9. • 12:15
Cinema Trafo 2
trailer
*The film will be followed by a panel discussion organised by the local group of Amnesty International in Baden. We will also be following in the footsteps of “Sultana’s Dream”: we will be talking about how the situation of women in India differs from that in Europe and Switzerland, and what it takes to achieve real freedom and equality.
Moderated by:
- Nienke Nachtegaal (Member Lokalgruppe Amnesty Baden)
With:
- Stephanie-Christine Eger (Co-Head of Women's Rights Group Zurich Amnesty, focus on international law)
- Sukhada Tatke (freelance journalist specialising in culture, immigration and gender)
- Claire-Louise Blaser (PhD student at the ETH in modern history with a research focus on connected histories between (post-) colonial Switzerland and India as well as the history of transnational feminism).