August sun

Description

This filmic offering by acclaimed director Prasanna Vithanage (Walls Within and Death on a Full Moon Day) is a poignant narrative of human displacement against the backdrop of the bitter, real-life conflict between the Sinhalese and Tamil people of Sri Lanka. The film traces the experience of three individuals, each of whom is affected by the war in different ways. Chamari enlists the aid of a London-based journalist to help locate her husband, a pilot who was captured by the Tamil Tigers; a young Muslim boy, Arfath, tries to keep his dog, even as his family joins thousands of other Muslims in a mass exodus to escape the conflict; and Dumida, a lonely young soldier, discovers that his sister has been working as a prostitute in a brothel that serves both Sinhalese and Tamil soldiers. All of these events, presented from a Sinhalese perspective, take place under the searing heat of a hot August sun and the weight of lengthy civil war. Awards/Festivals: Grand Jury Prize and nominated Lino Brocka Award Cinemanila International Film Festival 2003; Grand Prix des Amriques Montreal World Film Festival 2003; FIPRESCI/NETPAC Award Singapore International Film Festival 2004; Amiens International Film Festival 2003; International Film Festival Rotterdam 2004; Deauville Asian Film Festival 2004.

Runtime

109 min

Series

Subjects

Geography

Genre

Date of Publication

2003

Database

Alexander Street

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