An Animated Passage to India: Director Isabel Herguera Discusses the Personal Inspirations of ‘Sultana’s Dream’

This article was written for the December '24 issue of Animation Magazine (No. 345).

Spanish writer and director Isabel Herguera’s highly original and well-received 2D-animated movie Sultana’s Dream is one of the most intriguing indie works of the year. Inspired by a 1905 feminist parable by Bengali writer Begum Rokeya (a.k.a. Rokeya Sakhawat Hossain), the visually inventive feature follows a young Spanish woman´s intellectual and spiritual awakening and raises questions about gender dynamics and the suppression of women’s voices. The film has qualified for the Academy Awards consideration and was also been nominated for the European Film Awards both as best animated feature film and as best feature.

Last month, we were thrilled when the brilliant artist (best known for shorts such as Amar, The Blind Hen and Under the Pillow) answered a few of our questions about her movie via email:

Animation Magazine: Congratulations on the global success of your very special and personal movie. Can you tell us a bit about the inspirations and intentions of Sultana’s Dream?

Isabel Herguera: Back in 2012, I was in New Delhi during the monsoon. It started to rain, and I sought shelter in an art gallery. The exhibition featured paintings of the Gond tribe of India. In the back of the gallery, I saw a book. The cover was red, showing an image of a woman piloting a spaceship. I approached it and read the cover: “Sultana’s Dream, a feminist utopia written by Begum Rokeya Hossain in 1905.” I turned the book around and continued reading, “The author suggests a place where traditional roles are reversed.” That’s when I knew in my heart that I had found a treasure.

So, how did the pieces fall into place?

At that time, I was spending long periods of time in India with Gianmarco Serra, my partner and co-writer, and we started to organize a series of meetings and workshops with women of all ages and backgrounds to find out what relevance the story had today. In the meantime, we collected drawings, recorded sound and took notes in dozens of notebooks. The idea was to make a documentary on women’s dreams with some animated parts, using the drawings and stories that came out of the workshops. Before long, it all became very personal, and Gianmarco said to me one day, “Sultana’s Dream is not just a story about the women of Bengal; it is about all women. You have to be there, you are a character in this story!”

What was it about this subject that fascinated you?

First, I was particularly struck by the courage and radical posture of the author, Begum Rokeya Hossain, a woman who had grown up in a Muslim conservative environment yet was able to maintain such a lucid and free state of mind as to imagine a world where the roles of men and women are reversed. I felt a connection that united us as women across the world: the desire for a safe place. We were deeply moved by the reactions from female audiences at festivals around the world who told us that the film touched crucial aspects of their lives and sensibilities.

On the other hand, male audiences were sometimes a bit skeptical of the story and felt lost. This difference in engagement and opinion confirmed to us that the film touches on something important and timely. We also realized that there are people who are capable of dreaming of other worlds and others who are not only incapable but afraid of it.

Can you elaborate on the universal nature of the film’s story and themes?

No matter where we come from, we women grew up with a sense of alertness, always aware that we had to be careful. This awareness, so inherent in our upbringing, gives us a strong sense of solidarity and of being together. The film opens with the protagonist remembering a situation she experienced as a child: The sun was going down, and a man in a park was staring at her. Every woman remembers the day when she first felt a threatening gaze on her. We make many decisions based on that ancient fear: going out alone at night, choosing neighborhoods, company and being cautious in certain situations.

Animation can do a lot to raise awareness in this regard, but it all depends on the culture in general and ethics — schools, role models (TV, songs, etc.) We need raw female role models who have political views, dreams, read books, travel, and question themselves and culture. We wanted to show complex characters driven by contradictions, doubts and unresolved motivations. I believe that Sultana’s Dream is universal because it also speaks to this human complexity.

How did you come up with the wonderful visuals and overall look of the movie?

We were looking for a film with a pronounced artistic imprint — within the limits of our possibilities — we wanted each frame to be a painting in itself. The selection of animators and artists was based on their artistic talent and the personality they could bring to the characters. The incredible thing is that it was almost entirely women, and for some of them, this was their first job as animators. My gratitude to the entire team is endless.

Where was the animation produced and which tools did you use?

Rajiv Eipe in Bangalore, India, did the storyboard for the mehndi part. All the elements — trees, buildings, characters, animals — were designed and drawn with mehndi by women in Ahmedabad, Kolkata, Bangalore and Mumbai. The animatic and animation of Ladyland were done by Rajesh Thakare and Troy Vasanth at their studio in Mumbai called Blackbird. I did the storyboard for the rest of the film. Upamanyu Bhattacharya created the animatic for the 2D watercolor part, and María Manero animated the cutout part under the camera in Spain, and Eduardo Elosegi composed the final image.

The Bengali folk song depicting the life of Rokeya Hossain was composed by Moushumi Bhowmik and Tajdar Junaid and was recorded in Mumbai.

For the watercolor section, we created the backgrounds before starting the animation. In this case, I worked with Ángel Peris, a painter who had no previous experience in animation, at Tabakalera in San Sebastián. The animation was done at Glow Animation Studio in Extremadura, Spain, with a superb team. Gianmarco Serra did the editing in Italy. He also composed the music, recording in various studios across India, Italy, Germany and Spain. We recorded all the sounds for the film in the locations where the scenes take place: Spain, India and Italy. Gianmarco did the sound design with Simon Bastian, and the mix took place in Hamburg. They worked with Martin Langenbach, who’s a true foley master.

How many people worked on it?

It’s difficult to say because the process lasted many years, even though all the names are in the end credits. I would guess no fewer than a hundred people. I absolutely must say that we had a wonderful team of producers from Spain: Chelo Loureiro, Mariano Baratech, Diego Herguera and Iván Miñambres; and Fabian Driehorst from Germany. They were very supportive and open throughout the whole process; it was a real blessing to work with them.

What are you proudest of, now that the movie is screening around the world?

I am especially happy of the email I received from Moushumi Bhowmik. She had collaborated with us very generously. We were terrified of her final judgment. You know, she is an authority on the figure of Rokeya Hossain, on Bengali music and on folk art. She asked to see the film before the premiere. We sent her the link and didn’t sleep for three or four days, waiting for her verdict. It’s a beautiful email that I will never forget.

What excites you about the global animation scene?

I really enjoy seeing the work of new generations, both on a formal and technical level. But still I would like to see more challenging narratives and films that demand complex and personal and profound thinking. In animated shorts, fortunately, there is a lot of freedom, courage and extraordinary aesthetics. But this experimental attitude is difficult to find in animated feature films. This is due partly on the conservative approach of the distributors and TV, which conditions the producers and, ultimately, the authors. It is a pattern we all know and must break.

Any advice for newcomers to the field of animation?

I always suggest to look for inspiration in art, literature, poetry, nature and films, to avoid any preexisting rules and to look for your own voice. Stay away from those who claim successful formulas or books that claim to teach you how to write a screenplay. They will ruin you!

Sultana’s Dream made its U.S. debut at the Animation Is Film festival in Los Angeles in October. The film has been nominated for the Best Animated Feature by the Goya Awards and the European Film Awards (also considered for the Best European Film category), and has qualified for the Academy Awards animated feature race.