Arts
Telling their stories, being themselves
View(s):- An IRIS Sisters’ initiative gives 18 young women the opportunity to make documentary films
By Arrenga Nadaraja
The IRIS Sisters began in October 2017, the brainchild of Dishani Jayaweera, director of Centre for Peace Building and Reconciliation (cpbr) in Sri Lanka and her team.
“Working with young women to produce films to tell their stories as well as to initiate a discourse on the way young women experience and see the world,” was the idea behind the IRIS Sisters. The idea came about when Dishani noticed that young women in many different circles didn’t have the space to voice their opinions. A proposal was developed and after conversations with Sumudu Malalagama, creative producer of Green Pictures, GIZ, came on board to support the project.
The young film makers at the screening
IRIS Sisters are a peace-building group dedicated to supporting young women from diverse ethnic backgrounds, embracing various cultures, beliefs and sexual orientations, and fostering their confidence in their ability to say what they want to say in a safe space and “be themselves,” Dishani told the Sunday Times.
Four workshops were conducted and 18 young women were selected and trained in documentary film making. On February 27, the IRIS Sisters presented their four documentary films at the Centre of Excellence for Water and Sanitation in Dehiwala.
Aatta Kaari, a 20-minute documentary produced by Mafahira Mansoor from Periyakadai, Mannar, Nadah Razeli from Dehiwala and Showthamini Shanthakumar from Wellawatte portrayed women’s resilience in the face of adversity. Delving into the stories of three women from diverse backgrounds, the film highlighted how their strength, determination and unconditional love surpassed their “unspoken struggles,” particularly as mothers. In the film, one of the women states, “We were made to fear men and not even look at them.”
Khalli Walli highlights the exploitation of migrant workers, focusing on the experience of a girl named Chanu, who, at the age of 20, travelled to Jordan as a migrant worker seeking a new life and increased income, only to have it all stripped away. The film was produced by Anjalee Thilakarathne from Anuradhapura, Chanu Peiris from Weerapana, Prabhasha Charithangi from Monaragala, Oshadi Thilakarathna from Kottawa and Sakunthala Dewabhashi from Piliyandala.
Mannar brings to light a community that has been struggling due to new installations of wind turbines in the area. Written and produced by Archana Figurado, Rasathurai Thivya and Nagomi Dias from Mannar, Isaq Fareena from Oddamavadi, Batticaloa, and Fathima Hasmiya Haajah from Welimada, the film highlights the locals’ views on the issue, in particular the fishermen whose sources of income are being affected and how “environmental challenges” such as the floods have affected them.
Big Sisters explored the relationship and “overlooked role” of eldest daughters in families. Five women directed the film: Janani Karunarathna from Kandy, Oneli Wanix from Piliyandala, Sahasra Shehani from Narammala, Saumi Sandupama from Kegalle and Tharushi Maheshika from Moratuwa. Three of them are themselves older sisters and two are younger sisters and discussing intimate details of their experiences and childhood, they revisited their childhood homes.
Two of the films were in Tamil, and the others in Sinhala, all with English subtitles.
The films are on Youtube and Facebook.