Enjoy five compelling short films in this two hour showing.
The Image
There is a little girl who has no idea about nationalism or religion. She is curious and always questions everything. When she sees a reliquary for the first time, she has no idea what it means. After asking her grandmother, she understands that when someone holds a reliquary it brings them merit. She thinks that when she grows up, she will gain merit the way her father did. Then her grandmother tells her that it's forbidden for women to do so. But why, she asks? What is the reason for this...? She often thinks about it, until one day she sees an image on a temple wall and gets the answer to her question. This is her story.
Director: Chathumi Vidhushika
Sri Lanka (2016) 8.00 minutes
Language: English/Sinhala
Age suitability: All ages
Let her fly...
In many societies women's lives are ruled by patriarchal norms and religious institutes play a key role in shaping their daily life. Can we hope for something better?
Director: Fathima Nafla
Sri Lanka (2015) 3.00 minutes
Language: English/Tamil
Age suitability: All ages
Sheysha.. The extinction has begun
Parents have many dreams and ambitions for their children. Children have their own dreams and passions for their lives. This film looks at the mismatch between the two, from the point of view of someone who is awoken by a bad dream.
Director: Nipunika Fernando
Sri Lanka (2017) 4.40 minutes
Language: Sinhala/English
Age suitability: All ages
Hope
Fathima, a 16 year old school-age girl, is set to marry a man who is older than her. Until she meets him by accident, she doesn't know who her future husband will be. Both her right to education and her consent to marriage are denied. Confronted with the reality of her destiny, she feels bereft of hope.
Child marriages are a hidden reality which prevail in some sections of the Muslim community in Sri Lanka. This film follows the journey of young, innocent Fathima as she silently faces this reality.
Director: Fathima Shanaz
Sri Lanka (2017) 6.25 minutes
Language: English/Tamil
Age suitability: All ages
By the Sea
After being kidnapped and sexually abused for years, a girl is reunited with her mother. But the girl suffers from post-traumatic stress. The mother tries to help her recover and find a sense of normality again. As the struggle to return to a normal life continues in the house by the sea, the only companion the mother and daughter have is the sea itself.
Director: Bavaneedha Loganathan
Sri Lanka (2017) 10.40 minutes
Language: Tamil/English
Age suitability: Adults only