Sun, 2007-10-28
By Leel Pathirana

War torn northern Jaffna Peninsula is famous as much as Sri Lanka itself, a place where three decade of the endless separatist war had began. The place of the LTTE leader Prabakaran’s Utopia “Eelam” was born, which did not come to a reality.

This story about a Short film “Awaiting a Train” (Dumriya Enathuru- Sinhala & English subtitled) written,shot, edited and Directed by a young armature film maker of Sri Lanka, Mr.Upali Gamlath.
The story based on child conscriptions by the LTTE for their separatist war and how they have deprived the Childhood of the children who are living in the North and East of Sri Lanka.

Little Rasa is a Tamil Boy around 10 years old and born after the war. He has never seen a Train in his life, he quest from his Mother what is TRAIN, after he encountered a destroyed railway line in the war zone jungle and his mother’s efforts to tell him how a train looks like. While he dreams about his train he asks from his Mom, whether only Soldiers can go by Train? She says everybody can go by Train. Then he surprisingly asks from her, even Children’s can go by Train?
While dreaming about his illusive Train, he walks along the bombed railway line which ended up in a small railway station converted into an Army Camp. The boy was chased away by the soldiers. On his way back he finds a Boot of a dead soldier and he carries it to a little distance, he climbs a destroyed railway bridge, where he fling the Boot to the river. But the river currents hits back the Boot to the shore symbolizing the continuation of the War though we are reluctant.

His father has become another victim of the war like the most of the families living in the North and East. Throughout the movie, little Rasa smiles only once, that is when he found some flowers in the battle zone. Rasa picks up a small flower and heading towards his home, en route Rasa is abducted by the LTTE for their ‘Child Brigade’ to be trained as a Child Soldier.

The film end with a close up of his grieving Mother followed by a UNICEF Report that 3516 children’s were abducted by the LTTE in Sri Lanka during the Ceasefire as of October 2004.
The film has been awarded the best short film of the year by the National Film Cooperation of Sri Lanka.

Mr. Gamlath was motivated to make "Awaiting a Train" while he was shooting a Wild Life documentary in the North of Sri Lanka at Delft Island, where he has come across the image of a Train made of Armored Cars, scribbled on the wall of an abandoned house destroyed by shelling. This charcoal image led him to imagine how a child growing up in a militarized environment devoid of civil life relate to his surrounding's .In the film too the boy draws a similar image. Further while he was staying in the Delft Island, he has witness how parents are fearing about their children would abduct by the LTTE at anytime. This blend of experience led him to make a short film based on the Child conscription he added.

He said on speaking the theme of his movie ‘Awaiting a Train’, who ever does the issue of ‘Child Conscription’ is against the accepted human norms. The LTTE has the responsibility at least to release those children from this inhuman war. Even the LTTE knows this and that's why it has never admitted the fact that they recruit children for the war Mr.Gamlath protested.
Short films are successful on screening prior to feature length films showing on a large screen in an auditorium, and then only the audience feels the real effect of a film. If not, the directors idea, the sight & sound, lights, color and actors expressions would be lost. That why short films are not very much successful on TV he said.

Currently he woks at the National Youth Services Council of Sri Lanka as a producer attach to the Video Unit and he awaits those who can assist him to represent his short film on foreign Cinema Festivals. This well crafted film is really a work of Art.

Casts:

Boy Rasa-David Jonathan,

Mother-Nilupuli Jayawardhana,

Uncle-Malith Peiris.

Script,Camera, Editor and Director-Upali Gamlath

Art Director,Make up and production-Poorna Jayasiri

Assistant Director-Malith Peiris.