{"id":60980,"date":"2018-10-02T18:18:13","date_gmt":"2018-10-02T22:18:13","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/dbsjeyaraj.com\/dbsj\/?p=60980"},"modified":"2018-10-02T18:18:13","modified_gmt":"2018-10-02T22:18:13","slug":"filmmaker-jude-ratnam-states-his-film-on-sri-lankan-conflict-demons-in-paradise-scheduled-ti-be-screened-in-jaffna-film-festival-has-been-removed-without-explanation","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dbsjeyaraj.com\/dbsj\/?p=60980","title":{"rendered":"Filmmaker Jude Ratnam States His Film On Sri Lankan Conflict ” Demons In Paradise” Scheduled Ti Be Screened in Jaffna Film Festival Has Been “Removed ” Without Explanation."},"content":{"rendered":"

By<\/p>\n

Meera Srinivasan <\/strong><\/p>\n

A Sri Lankan Tamil filmmaker\u2019s take on the country’s civil war, which was scheduled to be screened at the Jaffna International Cinema Festival later this week, has been removed from the list, raising questions about the space for free expression in Sri Lanka\u2019s post-war north.<\/p>\n

According to filmmaker Jude Ratnam, festival organisers, citing \u201cpressure from the community\u201d, had decided to remove his film, Demons in Paradise, from the scheduled programme. \u201cThus far I have not been given a proper explanation for the removal of my film\u2026 I feel this is a case of censorship and an infringement on the fundamental rights to freedom of expression,\u201d the director said in a statement on Monday.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Festival director Anomaa Rajakaruna accused the director of \u201cwalking out of the discussion\u201d and claimed that the slot allocated for Mr. Ratnam\u2019s film was kept open on the schedule. The statement did not give the reasons for the organisers\u2019 decision, but underscored the need for dialogue in finding space for expression. The Hindu\u2019s query to Ms. Rajakaruna in this regard has not been answered.<\/p>\n

The fourth edition of film festival is being held from October 3 to 8 across different venues in Jaffna, featuring work from about 30 countries.<\/p>\n

Demons in Paradise shines the spotlight on the Tamil community\u2019s battles during the civil war. It received a red-carpet honour at the Cannes Film Festival last year and has since travelled to many other international film festivals.<\/p>\n

Mr. Ratnam said: \u201cThis was the first opportunity that I got to screen it in Jaffna.<\/p>\n

An uncommon critique of the LTTE from within the Tamil community, the film has drawn both critical acclaim and criticism. For many Tamils, the rebel Tigers\u2019 struggle remains a heroic effort in taking on the Sri Lankan State\u2019s historic discrimination and brutality against the island\u2019s Tamil minority. However, some within the Tamil society have, for long, questioned what they term the LTTE\u2019s hegemonic attitude and apparent intolerance to dissent within. The LTTE often branded them as \u201ctraitors\u201d and eliminated several such voices.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe organisers say there\u2019s some pressure from the \u2018community\u2019. Who is this community? For years, we have had this ghost within the community that will resist any political discourse contrary to the dominant narrative. This shows it is still in our midst,\u201d Mr. Ratnam said.<\/p>\n

Courtesy: The Hindu.<\/em><\/p>\n

Tweet<\/a><\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Meera Srinivasan A Sri Lankan Tamil filmmaker\u2019s take on the country’s civil war, which was scheduled to be screened at the Jaffna International Cinema Festival later this week, has been removed from the list, raising questions about the space for free expression in Sri Lanka\u2019s post-war north. According to filmmaker Jude Ratnam, festival organisers, …<\/p>\n

Continue reading ‘Filmmaker Jude Ratnam States His Film On Sri Lankan Conflict ” Demons In Paradise” Scheduled Ti Be Screened in Jaffna Film Festival Has Been “Removed ” Without Explanation.’ »<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[12],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dbsjeyaraj.com\/dbsj\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/60980"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dbsjeyaraj.com\/dbsj\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dbsjeyaraj.com\/dbsj\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dbsjeyaraj.com\/dbsj\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dbsjeyaraj.com\/dbsj\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=60980"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/dbsjeyaraj.com\/dbsj\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/60980\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":60981,"href":"https:\/\/dbsjeyaraj.com\/dbsj\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/60980\/revisions\/60981"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dbsjeyaraj.com\/dbsj\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=60980"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dbsjeyaraj.com\/dbsj\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=60980"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dbsjeyaraj.com\/dbsj\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=60980"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}