A Song of Ceylon
Laleen Jayamanne, 1985, AU, 16mm, 51'
A formally rigorous, visually stunning study of colonialism, gender and the body. The title echoes the classic British documentary and evokes a country erased from the world map. The soundtrack enacts a Sri Lankan anthropological text observing a woman’s ritual exorcism. Visually, the film brings together theatrical conventions and recreations of classic film stills, presenting the body in striking tableaux. A film that is a provocative treatise on hybridity, hysteria and performance.



