"Sultana's Dream" was one of only two feature films in competition at OIAF 2024 comprised primarily of 2D animation (and even then, "Dream" used some mixed media techniques as it screened). It's also one of at least three films that seem to be mostly completed, or at least driven, by a single creator from the festival (online sources don't explicitly make this claim here, but the producers introducing the film mentioned this was a ten-year passion project for the director). It was interesting to recognize these trends. The film's story loosely follows a young animator / filmmaker named Ines, a ficitonal stand-in for the movie's director Isabel Herguera. Living in Spain (an implied to be ethnically at least part-Indian), she frequently travels around the world, namely to India, to visit friends and find inspiration for her next works. The movie shows a charasmatic boyfriend in India, an elderly mother, a live-action Bollywood-fusion director for a father, a Spanish gallery curator and mentor, among many others. While escaping a comotion in the streets of India, Ines finds a used bookshop, and picks up a story as a souviner: a children's book of real-world story "Sultana's Dream," written by Begum Rokeya in 1905. The story, as well as a forgotten postcard in the book, inspires Ines to travel further into India to learn about Rokeya's life and influence to the country's culture. I was completely ignorant of Rokeya as a historical figure, and the movie does well to introduce her story and who she was. The story of "Sultana's Dream" is presented in a dream-like short, with animation inspired by traditional body tattoo art to differentiate it from the main watercolour style of Ines' world. A fairy tale, it tells of a woman visiting "Ladyland" for the first time, with a local explaining how it came to be: the men stupidly fought against a tougher army of a nation that threatened them, lost, and hid in their homes, and the women were left to outwit the enemy to protect their town. The women continued to lead their region in matters of politics and sciences, while keeping their men off the streets, safe at home and away from disturbing women. "This is different from my home," says the visitor, to which the guide replies "It is the men that pose a danger, why should the women have to stay in the home?" It's a clear inverse of the way things were at the time the story was written, an inspiring feminist tale.... sort of. I believe in the definition that being a "feminist" means wanting full equal rights and respect to women that men receive, and in that definition, I am a feminist, as I would hope all decent people to be. But it's easy for activists to confuse feminism with giving women greater freedoms then men, because women are simply better at everything, or at least deserve the chance to prove it to make up for countless generations when equality wasn't present. I personally don't agree with this, and I think it's why some people still struggle to say they are "feminists"... they would prefer something like "humanist" as a general word of full equality. The story of "Sultana's Dream" clearly makes fun of men by putting them down the way they would have treated women, and in the short film, the guide's arrogant way of speaking to say "this is just so, because it is better" might annoy some viewers interested in the subtlety of the subject. It's also meant to be a light-hearted depiction of the tale, so viewers shouldn't take it too seriously. More interestingly, Ines' journey reveals more about the author herself, Begum Rokeya. Married off at an early age and left a widow when her older spouse passed, she became an important feminist icon and activist, using her personal funds to build a school for women in Kolkata. At a time when women had few rights for the direction their lives would take, this was radical, and led in part to the more modern society India has today. In Ines' travels, she meets Indian women who are proud of Rokeya and what she accomplished. But she also meets some strictly traditional and devout women (in the "present day," nearly a century after Rokeya's book) who insist that it is better for women to "know their place," and finds Rokeya's grave on the site of one of her schools, marked with signs for the school's schedule, rather than a quiet place of solemn respect. The movie honours Rokeya, but also shows that the dream of at least quality still has a long way to go. 
Along this journey, it primarily focuses on India, but a sobering scene tells the movie's message: a female guide with Ines wakes up from a nightmare involving an unpredictable male figure, and asks "surely, our fear of men is only in India, they say it is better in free countries like in Europe?" Ines answers calmly, "No," explaining that women all around the world still feel fear and repression from men, whether it be literal in locking them at home, or judging them on the streets, or fear of sexual assault or domestic abuse. The guide's eyes drain with dispair. This moment in the movie summarizes the message it wants to convey.While the movie itself is a strong feminist story, the way it is depicted is much more subtle to convey pressures women face. We don't see sexual abuse or severe moments of disrespect from men. We DO see Ines' boyfriend complimenting her looks when they first see each other again, opposed to how you would normally greet a friend, in a quiet bar filled with only men, all of whom look at her not as an object, but more as if she doesn't belong and the boyfriend isn't aware. Shortly before she sleeps with him for the night. Later, a scene with a boy telling a girl she can't do what boys can occurs, where she and a teacher scold him for saying so - in small ways, old ways of thinking are still insidious. Ines tends to travel alone, and when the city is dark, her normally confident demeanour fades into wariness... as would any man or women travelling in a place they haven't been. Several completely different essays could be written to describe why "Dream" as a movie shows feminist rights as a still important problem around the world, or only in India, or not at all. It's this indecisiveness that makes me appreciate what it is saying, but unclear that I agree with how it is saying it or how effective the message is. Part of what makes the movie watchable is Ines herself. Dressed as a young, modern, but practical traveller, she's cool, calm, smart, and occasionally witty with a joke that goes over the heads of her companions. She always wears a slight smile and relaxed eyes that suggest confidence wherever she goes. She's likable. Being treated negatively as a woman, if it occurs at at, either doesn't phase her, or she doesn't seem to mind. Of course, she's also a free artist traveling the world, seemingly without worries about money - her situation of privileage seems very different from those where misogyny is a much more present and urgent issue. Maybe the movie isn't a call to action for women's rights, but is just a biography of Rokeya, while stating that her work is not yet complete. Ines' own storyline, other than feeling like a real character, is a bit aimless and doesn't add much to the movie. Production values for small budget films are difficult to score. "Sultana's Dream" uses different styles with inspiration, and the main style of watercolour-like patches looks pleasant enough. Designs are simplified, and animation more so, conveying movement sparingly. The other styles during dream or story sequences aren't as pretty, but their traditional cultural style should please some viewers. Acting conveys multiple languages (impressive!), with subtle downplayed acting, and the music is there to portray the spirit of India, both not standing out much."Sultana's Dream" is a mature story that respects an important Indian feminist. Feminism is the theme the movie wears on its sleeve, sometimes professing the problem with no subtlety at all, but with few scenes that convey that it actually is a modern-day problem, or at least an urgent one. That mixed messaging and meandering story will not convince many to join the cause, but by showing it's a complex issue makes this an interesting film for post-secondary studies on the topic.