Sultana's Dream - Still 1

Source: Square Eyes

‘Sultana’s Dream’

Austria-based sales agency Square Eyes has acquired world sales rights to Sultana’s Dream, a Spanish animation feature that will have its world premiere in the official selection at San Sebastian Film Festival in September.

The feature debut of Spanish filmmaker Isabel Herguera, Sultana’s Dream follows a Spanish artist living in India, who stumbles upon a science fiction story about Ladyland, a utopia where women rule the country while men live in seclusion and are responsible for household chores.

The story is based on a 1905 short story of the same name by Bangladeshi writer Begum Rokeya Hossain – the story the artist finds within the film.

The English- and Spanish-language film uses hand-drawn, 2D, digital and watercolour animation techniques, and has a voice cast including Miren Arrieta, Mireia Gabilondo, Maurizio Faraoni, British historian Mary Beard and philosopher Paul B. Preciado.

“We have been following Isabel’s work for years,” said Wouter Jansen, sales agent at Square Eyes. “It’s a film we fell in love with directly; a beautifully animated personal story with strong feminist themes.”

The 2023 San Sebastian Film Festival runs from September 22-30.