2008 December :: Copyright Reform

How Copyright Restrictions Suppress Art: An Interview With Nina Paley About “Sita Sings The Blues”

Permalink: http://questioncopyright.org/nina_paley_sita_interview
Posted by kfogel | Posted in: Syndicated Articles | Comments(0) December 2008

Well-known cartoonist and animator Nina Paley sat down for an interview on November 6th. Nina poured over three years of her life into creating the beautiful, brilliant, and award-winning film Sita Sings The Blues, but now she can't distribute it because of licensing issues with its music: the film uses songs recorded in the late 1920's by singer Annette Hanshaw, and although the recordings are out of copyright, the sheet music itself is still restricted.

The music in Sita Sings The Blues is integral to the film: entire animation sequences were done around particular songs. As Nina says in the interview, incorporating those particular recordings was part of her vision. To tell her — as many people did — to simply not use that music would have been like telling her not to do the film at all.

Sita Sings The Blues won a "Someone To Watch" Spirit award and a Gotham "Best Film Not Playing at a Theater Near You" award, as well as "Best American Feature" at the Avignon Film Festival, "Best Feature" at the Annency Animation Festival, and a Special Mention at the Berlinale. It remains undistributable as of this writing, although Nina is trying to work out an arrangement with the holders of the monopolies on the music that inspired her. If you'd like to donate to support Nina, you can do so here.

Thanks to: Nina Paley for interviewing and for editing help; the Software Freedom Law Center for space and for logistical support; Light House Films for camera work and more.

Interview Highlights (2:15):

Submit this to...
(No Ratings Yet) Loading ...

Free Culture & Columbia Political Union present: Panel Discussion on Illegal Downloading

Permalink: http://questioncopyright.org/columbia_panel_2008_12_01
Posted by kfogel | Posted in: Syndicated Articles | Comments(0) December 2008

Lerner Hall at Columbia University

We're taking questions from the Net for the panel discussion below. So if there's something you'd like raised, please leave a comment here — we'll bring the comments to the panel.

(And if you submit your question via, say, a video on YouTube, we'll try our best to play it live during the panel. Yes, that's a hint!)

When: Wednesday, 3 December 2008, 8pm-10pm
Where: Satow Room - Lerner Hall @ Columbia University (see map)
What: Panel discussion about current law and about the future of copyright policy.
Who: Stanley Pierre-Louis (VP of IP, Viacom); June Besek (Prof. of Law, Columbia University); Karl Fogel (Editor, QuestionCopyright.org)

The event is free, but space is limited. Please RSVP to: decause{_AT_}softwarefreedom.org.