“Muttrupulliyaa…?”, the first-ever indigenously made Tamil feature film on the plight of Sri Lankan Tamils in the post-war era, was premiered at the Jaffna International Film Festival on Friday.

“This is not only the first feature film on the plight of the Tamils to be made indigenously, but is also the first on the post-war situation. And the screening in Jaffna is the film’s world premier,” said Sherine Xavier, the film’s Lankan Tamil director and screenplay and dialogue writer. The editor, however, is the well-known B.Lenin from Tamil Nadu.

“Muttrupulliyaa…?” is a docu-drama because it is based on true stories. Through the stories of four unique individuals, the film reminds us that the way Lanka’s civil war ended must never be forgotten. The scale of previous atrocities and the unmistakably human element in the ongoing conflict together make the island nation’s case very gripping,” Xavier said.

“The film shows how four individuals navigate their lives in post-war Sri Lanka. It speaks about their silent agony, unfulfilled desires and everyday struggles,” she said, while cautioning that the film does not bash this side or that in a propagandistic way.

“It subtly delves into important issues like war, peace, love, identity, memory and truth,” Xavier said.

Earlier, inaugurating the festival, Northern Province Chief Minister C.V.Wigneswaran called for the revival of film making in Jaffna and stressed the need to cinematically portray the Tamils’ plight since Lanka’s independence in 1948.

“A total understanding of our past would help us to mend our future. Truth must precede reconciliation,” he said.

(The New Indian Express)