In partnership with The Root Reel and Dharamshala International Film Festival

Oba Nathuwa Oba Ekka (With You, Without You), by Prasanna Vithanage (90’)

Based on a novella by Fyodor Dostoyevsky, acclaimed Sri Lankan director Prasanna Vithanage returns with arguably his best work so far. Akin to The English Patient, it is set in the months after war and deftly explores the emotional fall-out of such trauma on the lives of ordinary people. Selvi is a beautiful but quiet Tamil refugee (powerfully played by Anjali Patil) who catches the eye of a middle-aged Buddhist pawnbroker when she comes to cash in her last jewellery… Tightly scripted, with a wonderfully nuanced plot and haunting cinematography, this is Sri Lankan independent cinema at its best. ~ Cary Sawhney