Cinema
Saroja
සරෝජා
Somaratne Dissanayake · 2000
Synopsis
Saroja, a little Tamil girl, loses her mother when their house is burned down; her father, a separatist fighter wounded by the army, flees with her into the jungle. They arrive near a Sinhalese village, where Varuni, the schoolteacher's daughter, discovers Saroja. The two children do not speak the same language, but a friendship is born, and Varuni gets her parents to take in the little Tamil girl; soon her father also finds refuge there, while suspicions grow.
Context
The first feature film of its author, who wrote and directed it, the film was produced by Renuka Balasuriya; Suminda Weerasinghe is behind the camera, Stanley de Alwis edits, Rohana Weerasinghe writes the music; Nithyavani Kandasami plays Saroja, Pramudi Karunarathne Varuni. Released on 10 March 2000, it stayed one hundred and twenty-six days at the Regal in Colombo and within a year won a series of prizes at foreign festivals.
Who it is for
A film in Sinhala and Tamil, an hour and three quarters long, suitable for children; a few points of reference on the civil war help to understand it.
Prizes and reception
Audience Award and Best Asian Film Award at Dhaka, Liv Ullmann Peace Prize at Chicago, Audience Award at Vesoul, Best Director Award at Isfahan, all in 2000.
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