Evidently,
it takes five directors to make an uplifting animated short about child labor.
To be fair, it is quite a tall order and in this case, the final product is
absolutely beautiful. In fact, it is rather satisfying to watch one young
Indonesian girl challenge authority during both her escapist fantasies and her
mundane factory life in Sarah Feruglio, Anthony Oliveira, Pierre-Antoine Naline
& Maxime Orhnial’s short film Indah
Cintra (excerpt here), which
screens as part of Programme
International 1 short film block at the 2015 Fantasia International Film Festival in Montreal.
Unlike
her fellow sneaker assemblers, our plucky young heroine is not intimidated by
the thuggish foreman. She is also a bit of a dreamer, with a talent for
puppetry and story-telling. As soon as she falls out of his field of vision,
she slips into a daydream set during Early Kingdom era. Naturally, she will
lead the revolt against a royal despot. When the foreman rouses her rebellious reverie,
he gets more than he bargained for.
Although
only six minutes long, Indah Cintra could
(and perhaps should) easily be expanded into an epic feature. Visually, it is
absolutely arresting, employing 3D animation in the present day and cut-out
style animation intentionally evoking Lotte Reiniger’s Prince Achmed for the historical fantasy. The combination of styles, mystical themes, and resourceful young
protagonist (a sort of Indonesian Norma Rae and Joan of Arc combo) make it a
perfect short to pair up with Nina Paley’s Sita Sings the Blues.