Iri Madiyama (August Sun)2 min read
Reading Time: 2 minutes2003 | Drama | Sri Lanka | Sinhala & Tamil (English subtitles) | 108 min | PG | $10
Director: Prasanna Vithanage
Premieres 18 June 2010
Ira Madiyama (August Sun) is set in Sri Lanka during the mid-1990s and tells three simultaneous stories against the backdrop of the country’s savage civil war (1984 ““ 2009).
Chamari (Nimmi Harasgama) is searching for her husband, a Sinhalese Sri Lankan Air Force pilot shot down in flight, whom she believes has been taken prisoner by the Tamil Tigers. Desperate to know the truth, she enlists the help of a sympathetic journalist and sets out on a journey to track him down.
Meanwhile, eleven year old Tamil Muslim Arfath (Mohamed Rahfiulla) is struggling to keep his companion and friend, a dog, while the family together with the entire village is forced to evacuate by a rebel army.
The third narrative follows Duminda (Namal Jayasinghe), a young soldier who walks into a brothel to find his sister among the working girls.
The main action of the film takes place in Sri Lanka’s northern territories, parts of which are controlled by the Tamil rebels who have created a de-facto separate state.
These are stories about people who are struggling to hold on to their hopes and dreams while being swept up by the torrents of war. This film is about their quest for life.
About the Director:
Prasanna Vithanage, born in 1962 (48 years of age) is one of Sri Lanka’s most prolific filmmakers in recent times.
Despite the turbulent years of ethnic conflict in Sri Lanka and strong competition from tele-dramas Prasanna has stayed on in the country and managed to produce good quality local box- office hits which are also of international acclaim.
Prasanna Vithanage completed “Ira Madiyama”, his fifth film in 2003. It also went on to win many international awards and was featured prominently in the world festival circuit.
Year 2008 saw the World Premiere of Prasanna 6th feature film as director, “Akasa Kusum (Flowers of the Sky)” in Pusan, South Korea. The film was released in Sri Lanka in August 2009 and ran for a record 77 days across 24 screens. The film is still touring in the international festival circuit.
Prasanna is currently working on the script of his first Tamil film “Athirum Kaatrum”.
Ira Madiyama (August Sun) premieres together with another Prasanna Vithanage classic Akasa Kusum (Flowers of the Sky) on 18 June 2010 at Sinema Old School.
