Demons in Paradise

Demons in Paradise, a documentary film by Jude Ratnam and Isabelle Marina, reveals the many conflicted sides of the 35 year civil war in Sri Lanka. It’s the story of his own journey as a Tamil boy from Southern Lanka to the North, where most Tamils lived, and where the Tiger militants took control to fight for a “Tamil Paradise”. Jude returns to the southern village of his childhood to visit the Sinhala Buddhist family that sheltered him and his family from the Sinhala Military. He travels north by train to Tamil territory to find his friends who joined one of the many military groups fighting alongside the Tamil Tigers. They talk about the violent in-fighting that occurred between the Tamil militant groups. They recall that the Tigers demanded absolute loyalty, and captured, tortured and killed anyone they considered “traitors” to the cause. Thousands of people were tortured and killed by the Tamil Tigers. Most of the victims were ordinary Tamil people not connected to any militant group. The documentary is a deeply personal story of a boy, a people and a country in the throes of civil war, the futility of violence, that war and conflict is far more complicated than “us vs. them.” The story Ratnam tells might have implications for other conflicts in our time, such as the war in Palestine.

Note: this film is only available for a short time, until Monday February 5.

From Himal South Asia: This weekend, we’re screening Demons in Paradise, a documentary from Pakistan, directed by Jude Ratnam. The documentary is available to stream from today 2 February (Friday) to 5 February (Monday). 

To access the documentary on Vimeo, please click here. 
Link: https://vimeo.com/905427168?share=copy
Password: DevilsINHeaven