Director Asoka HANDAGAMA | 2012 | Sri Lanka | 104 mins | Tamil w/ES| U.S. Premiere
A nameless former Tamil Tiger fighter returns to his small town to begin a new life. He is confronted by his neighbors’ resentment and his own haunting past. He becomes a security guard for a smuggler, while forming a strange bond with the wife of the previous holder of the job. Sinhalese director Asoka HANDAGAMA’s film is one of the rare Tamil-language films, and certainly the first of its kind, to compassionately depict a slowly healing country torn apart by a 26-year long civil war.
About the Filmmaker:
Asoka Handagama was born in the South Central of the Island away from the influences of sophisticated urban city life. Asoka Handagama’s entry to filmmaking was via the theatre and television. His maiden theatrical effort, “Bhoomika”, was to address the seedling emerging ethnic crisis in the Island. “Chanda Kinnarie”” was his debut effort in cinema. “Ini-Avan” is considered as the most accomplished cinematic work of Asoka Handagama. Premiered at Cannes 2012 as one of the films under ACID (l’Association du Cinéma Indépendant pour sa Diffusion), the film has been listed for many festivals including Toronto, Edinburg, Tokyo, Hanoi and many more.
Screening:
Friday August 2, 2013 | 9:30 pm
Anthology Film Archives (AFA)
Maya Deren Theater (MD)
