Arts
Lest we forget: Memories in motion
It’s night. Everything is silent. Outside, an owl hoots while a cat prowls around. A man awakes from a nightmare and shouts out the word ‘baldiya’. He travels back in time and we learn that he was part of the mob that killed Tamils during the ’83 riots. The mob had identified the Tamil citizens through their pronunciation of the Sinhala word ‘baldiya’, which Tamils are more likely to pronounce as ‘vaaldiya’. This is the memory that haunts him still.
This is the plot of a short film by Irushi Tennekoon, Sumedha Kelegama and Sumudu Athukorala which won the award for the best animated short film at the “Agenda 14 Short Film Festival” held at the BMICH on December 11, 2016.
The man is representative of the Sinhalese. “What we are trying to say through this is that the ’83 riots still haunt the Sinhala race although it isn’t publicly mourned or acknowledged,” explains Irushi.The aim of the film is to raise awareness about the ’83 riots so that the public is able to understand the lessons which can be learnt from it.
Sumedha feels that the most important lesson which can be learnt from the riots is the fact that people can easily be manipulated. “It’s very easy to trigger people,” he says, adding that Donald Trump’s election as US President is another example of this. “Trump tapped into the fear of the people and although they didn’t publicly acknowledge their support for him they all ended up voting for him secretly. Racism is like this,” he explains, highlighting the fact that even in Sri Lanka people might be provoked by the actions of racists and they also might find an opportunity to act although they remain silent in public. The team feels that it is the duty of artists, activists and other interested parties to build awareness and prevent similar uprisings in the future.
Sumudu has made films before but this is the first time that Irushi and Sumedha have created a short film. Sumudu’s short film ‘Hole in the Wall’ won the best short film at the same film festival in 2014. The film has been made using stop motion animation, where physical objects are placed in ‘frames’ and moved between frames. When the sequence of images is rapidly played back, it creates the illusion of movement which is used in films and cartoons.
Irushi, a children’s book illustrator, had posted short videos using stop motion animation which had given Sumudu the idea of making a film. He and his co-worker Sumedha (both architects) then collaborated to make the film. They drew and cut out the characters, painted them and took picture after picture to create the final film.
Sumedha
A low budget, or ‘no-budget’ film as Irushi laughingly calls it, they had made the film with equipment they had at home, spending only Rs. 50 on tissue paper. The film was assembled on her iPhone using a stop motion app, with the help of Chintaka Prabhath, who edited the film and helped the team add sound effects.
So, what plans do they have for the future? The trio hope to make a documentary and highlight other social issues as well.
Meanwhile they are looking forward to the film being screened here and abroad and particularly to seeing how audiences will respond.
Irushi
Home affair: Sumudu (Left) and Sumedha ‘making’ the film together