Blender Foundation has officially premiere online its independently produced animated short Sintel.
This independent production was financed by the Blender community, supported by the Netherlands Film Fund, CineGrid Amsterdam, and with sponsorship from several international companies. The primary aim of the film is to showcase what Blender, an open source 3D animation package, is capable of but if the previous efforts of the Blender studio are anything to go by we can expect the results to be very entertaining indeed.
The script was inspired by a number of story suggestions by Martin Lodewijk around a Cinderella character (Cinder in Dutch is "Sintel"). Screenwriter Esther Wouda then worked with director Colin Levy to create a script with multiple layers, with strong characterization and dramatic impact as central goals.
In the film we meet a lonely girl - spoken by Halina Reijn - who is saved on a barren snowfield by a shaman - with the voice of Thom Hoffman. In the hut of the shaman she tells her life story; how she found a wounded baby dragon in a dilapidated city, and how a deep bond grows between them. When the little dragon is kidnapped violently by an adult dragon, she takes a long quest. After her visit to the shaman she then undergoes a dramatic confrontation with the adult dragon.
You'll find the 15 minute short embedded below. A free downloadable version as well as a special edition DVD is available at its official site.