Demons in Paradise

Jude Ratnam, a Sri Lankan filmmaker, decides to face the violence of his country. He was 5 years old in 1983 when he and his family fled the capital city on a night train to escape from the anti-Tamil pogrom of “Black July ” that left thousands dead and hundreds of thousands as refugees within a matter of days. This marked the beginning of Asia’s longest running civil war that was to last 26 years. It was a deathly conflict between the Sinhalese majority and the Tamil minority. The war finally ended in 2009 with the military victory of the Sri Lankan state over the Tamil militants. Today, as the 30th anniversary of the ‘Black July’ approaches in an ambiance where general amnesia is encouraged and silence is imposed by the harsh current regime, Jude once again boards the mythical train of his childhood. While crossing his country from South to North, he aims to symbolically bring together his divided country.