Militant Buddhism and Post-War Sri Lankan Cinematic Memory Work

Abstract

Since 2009, several Sinhala films, such as Matha (2012) by Boodee Keerthisena, and Ini Avan (2012) by Asoka Handagama, have revisited the memory of the last phase of the thirty-year Sri Lankan civil war. Using as a touchstone Sarath Weerasekara's Gamani (2011), a film that claims to be based on the “true story” about the LTTE's massacre of a group of Sinhalese villagers, this paper explores the “uses and abuses” of memory (Jelin) in state—sponsored post—war cinema. Through an examination of the film, this paper will show how the Buddhist discourse contributes to a hegemonic memory culture, pushing subaltern testimonies and memories of war into the periphery. It will examine the role of Buddhism, depicted in cinematic memory work, in the project of post-war nation-building in Sri Lanka.