Dekala Purudu Kenek (The Strange Familiar)

In a marriage that is gagged by betrayal and distrust, Dinithi attempts to communicate with her husband, and he responds with relentless indifference. 

“Malith Hegoda presents a brutally honest and gripping examination of the breakdown between an urban Singhalese couple, exploring the moral and emotional dilemma of betrayal within a marriage. Samadhi Laksiri and Bimal Jayakody give compelling performances as the wounded couple in this emotionally controlled tale that has universal resonances.”

  – BFI London Film Festival 2014

The Story

The more that Dinithi attempts to communicate with her husband, the stronger his indifference grows. He makes sure that she does not forget who betrayed whom. The tension between them is constant, but when momentarily eased, it returns with heightened severity. Her interaction with the outside world is minimal, limited to their daughter, parents and in-laws, her regular taxi driver, and a male cousin with whom she maintains an extremely close relationship. One day, the husband is drawn into a road accident in which a pedestrian is killed, and Dinithi makes yet another attempt to start a dialogue with him.  

About The Strange Familiar

‘The Strange Familiar’ delves into the ruptured relationship between a husband and wife. Their seemingly non-violent behaviour and constant tension not only seep into the lives of those close to them, but also crawl under the skin of the audience, making the experience strangely familiar.  

About the Director

Born in 1984, Malith Hegoda, started as a photographer and a publicist for theatre and film. After completing his associate’s degree in 2007 from the Colombo campus of Excelsior College, New York, he moved to London where he worked in photography for two years. On his return, he worked with various theatre directors and groups and studied the application of various acting and staging techniques. Dekala Purudu Kenek is his first feature film. In his latest collaboration with long-term friend and screenwriter Boopathy Nalin, Malith is currently completing a documentary on the vanishing of Tamil cinema in Sri Lanka as a result of the 30-year ethnic war.

About the Screenwriter

Born in 1982, Boopathy Nalin Wickramage is a self-taught critic, photographer and scriptwriter.  At the age of 20, he won the prestigious SIGNIS Award for Best Film Critic 2002, becoming the youngest Sri Lankan to receive this accolade. Since then, Boopathy has been recognized as an influential film critic in the country. He now works as a critic in the visual arts; cinema, photography, theatre, and architecture, and is also a visiting lecturer in film studies at Colombo University - Sri Palee Campus.

Director’s note

The reality of the modern day individual is that it is easier to connect with hundreds of people across the globe through technology, than it is to connect emotionally with the person across the table. And this comes into play most intensely within the folds of urban middle class marriage. Relationships can exist in an endless state of limbo, weighed down by a long line of unaddressed problems, unspoken words and unfinished business. In such instances, what appears to be holding a Sri Lankan middle class marriage together is not communication, but norms of culture and tradition.

The situation that we observe in this film is exceedingly ‘normal’. A marriage immersed in frustration, betrayal, hurt and silence. Silence that can grow and stretch and mature into calm and quiet ‘violence’. Violence that leaves no physical scars, and with which people exist and raise their children. It is a violence that can be endured; that persists because it doesn’t compel those involved to initiate change. To me, this violence in the form of ‘non-violence’ is the most dangerous, be it within the four walls of a house or within the borders of a country.

Through this film, my attempt is to recognise the human tendency to return again and again, as perpetrators, as victims, as contributors, to situations of ‘non-violent violence’ until it becomes normal; to explore, the subtle dynamics of such relationships and the very real politics of power to which cultured, modern people resort, when confronted with unhappiness.

Cast & Crew

Producers Lal Hegoda, Rasanga Dissanayake, Mohamed Adamaly, Nadira Adamaly

Cast Samadhi Laksiri, Bimal Jayakody, Jagath Manuwarne, Lakshman Mendis, Chamila Pieris, Kaushalya Fernando, Dayadeva Edirisinghe, Prasanna Mahagamage, Dilshani Perera, Kushenya Sayumi Fonseka, Athula Pathirana, Nadee Kammallaweera

Director of Photography M.D Mahindapala  Camera Operator Chinthaka Somakeerthi  Art Director Manjula Ayagama  Costume Designers Chiranthi Mallikaarachchi, Aloka Sampath, Jayampathy Guruge  Makeup Priyantha Dissanayake  Editor Malith Hegoda  Sound Designers Malith Hegoda, Sasika Ruwan Marasinghe  Composer Ruwan Walpola  Sound Mix Taruun B. Sharma (India)  Colorist Vibhav Vidya (India)  Production Manager Deepal Gunerathne  1^st Assistant Director  Daminda D. Madawala  2^nd Assistant Director Chamara Chinthaka Selara

Festival Participation and Accolades

-  MOST PROMISING DIRECTOR

   Cinema of Tomorrow, Derana Film Festival, Sri Lanka 2016

-  JURY AWARD FOR THE BEST DEBUT FEATURE

   Jaffna International Cinema Festival, Sri Lanka 2015

-  GOLDEN HANOMAN AWARD (Nomination)

   Jogja-NETPAC Asian Film Festival, Indonesia 2015

-  BFI London Film Festival

   Dare Strand - (European Premiere), United Kingdom 2014

-  GOLDEN ZENITH AWARD (Nomination)

   World Premiere, First Film World Competition, 

   Montreal World Film Festival, Canada 2014

-  Seattle South Asian Film Festival, Tasveer, USA 2015

We need your support

USD 40,000 may sound like a lot, but it adds up surprisingly fast when it comes to releasing a film in Sri Lanka. The general publicity budget for an artistic feature film in Sri Lanka varies between USD 55,000 – 81,000 (LKR 8 - 12 million) and a commercial film’s publicity budget exceeds USD 1,000,000.

Here’s how we would allocate the budget:

35mm related expenses (6 copies) USD 6,400

DCP & e cinema related expenses (15 copies) USD 2,400

Publicity related expenses USD 31,200

Although we have shot this film in digital medium, a majority of theatres in Sri Lanka are not digitised. So we would require a limited number of 35mm prints to distribute screenings in and beyond Colombo. The cost involved in 35mm prints include travel to India, transfers into 35mm film, making of copies, and obtaining custom clearance. DCP (Digital Cinema Package) is the format in which we will be screening the film in many theatres. The cost involved include re-mastering of DCP, making of copies and purchasing hard disks for cloning. The publicity budget will cover expenses from printing posters, cutouts, flyers, and online marketing, as well as publicity in print and electronic media.

We have come a long way with the help of our producers, friends and family. We have a film that has demonstrated its potential through festival participation and accolades both locally and internationally. But now, we need your help to take the final steps of this journey. Please contribute what you can - every dollar you donate will also be an investment in Sri Lankan cinema.

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Thank you for visiting the crowd funding page of The Strange Familiar (Dekala Purudu Kenek) and for supporting an independent debut feature of two young filmmakers.