Thayakam (Motherland)

Sep 15

Synopsis

There is loss of biodiversity, land and rights disturbing the coastal Mannar community in Sri Lanka. Edison, a young activist, is fuelled with motivation to highlight the stories of this diverse society. The film is an intimate ethnographic study of the region and the various socio-economic and environmental challenges it faces.

From the filmmaker

Set in the heavily militarised North of Sri lanka, thayakam was not an easy film for a largely minority crew. And yet, it is urgent and necessary. The documentary represents a decade-long interrogation of Sri Lanka’s ethnic conflict and is the first feature documentary from Sri Lanka on the climate crisis. It is an exploration of what it means to lose one's motherland thrice over: to war, to displacement, and now to a climate crisis accelerated by post-war development.