Bambara Walalla

Harris Theater: May 7 @ 2:00 PM
Melwood Screening Room: May 14 @ 9:30PM

Passes not accepted on Opening/Closing Night. Please arrive at least 15 minutes ahead of start time to ensure availability of seating. Film schedule and Q & A's are subject to change.

2009/Sri Lanka/Director: Athula Liyanage/108 min.
Cast: Damitha Abeyratne, Neeta Fernando, Athula Liyanage, Mahendra Perera
Language: Shanghainese/ Sinhala
Festivals and Awards: Special Jury’s REMI Awards for Best Cinematography, and Best Direction
Bambara Walalla takes viewers on a brilliant yet unconventional route through one man’s journey to find passion and courage in a seemingly meaningless life. Podi Eka’s scarred beginnings make for a difficult feat as he attempts to pick up the pieces and move on.
At the age of 17, after killing his step-father in vengeance for the rape of his sister, Podi is sentenced to 17 years in prison. With her family torn apart, Podi’s mother falls into insanity, suffering from grief and disbelief while Podi is away. Podi’s return home marks a turning point in his life, a chance for a new beginning that is faltered by his lack of education and his haunting past.
After being badly beaten and left to die, Podi is helped by Mal, an undertaker. A rough but decent man, Mal claims that his business is with the dead and holds a general disdain for the living. Mal takes Podi under his wing and their relations result in a series of intriguing and at times violent occurrences. Both men are in the search for love and significance in their existences and inadvertently help each other come to terms with what has happened.
Bambara Walalla is of the same name as a difficult dance sequence that should only be attempted by the most proficient dancers. The complexity and exclusivity of the dance alludes to Podi’s outlook on life as he feels like an eternal outsider. The dreadful circumstances of his upbringing have influenced him dramatically, but Podi learns that “and ordinary meaningless existence can suddenly change by life and death”. In Bambara Walalla nothing is white or black. Mal and Podi are neither pure hero nor faltering villain, but a combination faults and glories that make up the true human condition.