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Film: The Wind Bird "Sulang
Kirilli"
Directed By: Inoka Sathyangani
Origin: Sri Lanka, 2002
Description: Sinhalese w/
English subtitles, 120 minutes
The world of young Rathie lies somewhere between dreaming her
elusive dreams and living her harsh reality. Rathie is an unmarried
garment worker who gets pregnant by her lover, the soldier,
Santha. When Rathie learns that Santha is a married man, the
mental anguish almost breaks her. What would she do now? Should
she abort her three-month-old pregnancy? Should she commit suicide?
She has no right to abort according to the penal code in Sri
Lanka, nor can she bring up an illegitimate child without a
father in a male dominated society. The unholy gaps in the law
and the social values lead a young woman into a crisis she has
no way of escaping.
The Wind Bird is Inoka Sathyangani's first feature
film, which has been screened in film festivals around the
world and also has won numerous awards.
International Film Awards
- Best Film Award (GRAND PRIX) with the Cash Prize won
at the Main Competition given by the International jury
of The 8th Dhaka International Film Festival in Bangladesh
- 2004 - January.
- The International Critics Award (FIPRESCI AWARD) as the
Best film awarded to the Director given by The International
Federation of Film Critics at The 8th Dhaka International
Film Festival in Bangladesh - 2004 - January.
- The Award for the Best Film given by the jury of O.C.I.C.
(Jury for International Catholic Bureau of Film) at The
21st Cinematica Del Uruguaya in Latin America - 2003.
- The Major Opera Prima Award for the Best New Director
given by the International jury of The 21st Cinematica Del
Uruguaya in Latin America - 2003.
- Silver Dhow award for the Best Feature Film given by
the International jury of the Zanzibar International Film
Festival in Tanzania - 2003. Zanzibar International Film
Festival is the festival of the Dhow Countries, East Africa's
largest cultural event.
- The Award for the Best Director given by the International
jury of The Tamil Nadu International Film Festival (Channi
International Film Festival) in India - 2004 - December.
- Best Actress Award given by the International jury of
The 8th Dhaka International Film Festival in Bangladesh
- 2004 - January. .
- Best Actress Award given by the International jury of
The Tamil Nadu International Film Festival in India - 2004
- December.
"As creative artists we can't just close our eyes and
make films for fun. I feel it is my moral duty and obligation
to do some justice to all the women who suffer from the particular
issue. I do it also on behalf of the major issues where lot
of people in this society just ignore, categorizing them as
'women's issues'. We can't call 'abortions' as only a women's
issue as we do not know that the child to be born is a girl
or a boy. Hence this problem matters to the whole of humankind."
- Inoka Sathyangani
Additional Information:
Home
Truths for Sri Lankan Film BBC
The
Uniqueness of Sri Lanka Cinema by Yasmin Ahmedi and Sophia
Purekal
Program Reviews:
Average review for this program:
4 
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Very realistic and heartwrenching - September 18, 2005
Reviewer: Chetna Bail
The realistic nature and frightening loneliness of going through the 9 months of child-bearing with the unwed mother surprisingly hit me hard inspite of growing up in a similar society in India. The director did a great job of showing us the sadness, happiness and selflessness of the human spirit in the face of extreme adversity.
Program sponsored by Chaya
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