A short film on unresolved issues in SL’s war-torn areas

• Nayomi Apsara on her debut film ‘The Tea is Cold’ 

Art and activism have always gone hand in hand – several instances around the world show that artistic media have brought about change in the world. A look at the current context right here on our island, would be a relevant example, where several displays of artistic expression highlighted during the ongoing protests send a strong message of resilience and bring several issues into the limelight.

Poet, Screenwriter, and Director Nayomi Apsara, when producing her debut short film The Tea is Cold, explored the field of “artivism” and chose to focus on the war-torn areas in the Northern part of our island, bringing the struggle they face to the limelight. 

Her story, starring Randika Gunathilake and Sumith Ilango, depicts lighthearted millennial Randika, who, on an official assignment, takes a journey to civil war-affected areas in the north of Sri Lanka. With the help of a local in the area, Vasantham, he explores unresolved issues and various after-effects of war in diverse communities.

The Tea is Cold, written and directed by Apsara, was screened at the Jaffna International Cinema Festival under the themes “Engaging Women and Girls in Film” and “Making films across borders in Sri Lanka today”. 

Brunch spoke to Apsara on her short film, art and activism, and the relevance with the current situation in Sri Lanka.

Tell me about The Tea is Cold; what inspired the making of it? 

The producers of The Tea is Cold – Alliance Development Trust and MinorMatters – approached me in the latter part of last year for this production. After lengthy discussions, we decided to do a movie where we could address the youth, who could be reinforced with the ideas that Sri Lanka is multi-religious, multi-ethnic, and multicultural, and therefore, that it is important to respect, accept, and embrace people from different communities and backgrounds – irrespective of differences, whether it be ethnicity, religion, language, or sexual orientation, among others – and we are all equal as human subjects. 

We also wanted to make youth reflect on the various factors that keep us apart as communities, such as identity politics, economic interests, the lack of access to information, and lack of critical thinking about issues in general.

What was it like during the creation of the film? How did you find people to talk to? 

We spent half a month in Jaffna looking for locations and stories, as well as actors and actresses. Only three professional actors were from Colombo, while the rest were auditioned and chosen from Jaffna. We improvised the storyline along with some of the artists’ real life experiences. 

The war is over, but do you think the relevant communities have been served “justice”?

I strongly believe that a transitional justice process should take place along with a structural change. The ending of the war was celebrated in the South, but most of the communities involved in the North do not even have rights for memorials of their loved ones. These need to be addressed by relevant authorities. This is the whole reason for this movie coming into light. As writers, filmmakers, or artists of any medium, discussing these issues is a social responsibility. 

Do you believe performative art methods and resistance go together, and was that the reasoning behind your movie? 

Yes. Cinema and other performative art methods could not only be used to highlight parts of the current discourse but it could also be part of bringing out a lasting and substantive change in one’s mindset. I used my film to bring post-war issues faced by locals in the northern part of Sri Lanka to the limelight, so other citizens around the country can understand their struggle. 

Cinema connects people, and acts as a starter of a conversation. It enhances imagination and shows the entire world multiple perspectives, and broadens our vision and thinking. Most importantly, it connects different cultures and introduces us to the various forms of art and adds unknown information and facts to our lives. So I believe that cinema could be a powerful tool in real activism. 

There are a lot of art movements happening at “Gotagogama” at Galle Face. What do you think of that?

This is a time for us to learn how some winning protests were done around the world with much aesthetic enthusiasm. Performative action and resistance go together. Painting, poetry, theatre, film screening, holding classes, etc., can be taken as performative and solidarity building processes.

The movement at “GotaGoGama” is obviously a long-term protest, which has already achieved several victories. What it needs is performative actions that would consolidate its presence in the long term.

What else do you have coming up this year?

I am hoping to work on a feature film, of which the script is completed. I am also structuring my debut novel, but there is a lot of research involved. Fingers crossed!

Down the line, I hope to continue down the path of “artivism” during my creative career, but it will not simply be limited to that. I will pursue many other styles of artistic media – not just to do with activism, but interpretive and creative art as well.