THE FREER AND SACKLER GALLERIES OF
THE SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION

IN PARTNERSHIP WITH

THE EMBASSY OF SRI LANKA IN WASHINGTON D.C. AND

THE NATIONAL FILM CORPORATION OF SRI LANKA

PRESENT

“ENCHANTED FORESTS, SPIRITUAL JOURNEYS:

FOUR RECENT FILMS FROM SRI LANKA”

MARCH 02, 07 AND 09, 2008

AT THE MEYER AUDITORIUM OF THE FREER GALLERY

Against the Tide (“Uduganyamaya”)
Sunday, March 2, 2008, 2:00 pm, Meyer Auditorium

Set in 1989, Sudath Devapriya's film takes place in a lakeside village. The young boy at the story's center lives in idyllic innocence-until his father mysteriously disappears after ferrying a group of strangers to a nearby island. The boy soon realizes that the surrounding lush forest harbors secrets from the civil war then ravaging the country.
2004/103min.

Fire Fighters (“Suriya Arana”)
Friday, March 7, 2008, 7:00 pm, Meyer Auditorium

At the heart of this ecological parable from director Somaratne Dissanayake is a rambunctious hunter. When not teaching the trade to his young son, he regales his fellow villagers with ghost stories about the forest around them. The hunter's superstitions and arrogance are challenged by the arrival of two Buddhist monks and their philosophy of compassion and respect for nature.

2004/105min.

Sankara
Sunday, March 9, 2008, 1:00 pm, Meyer Auditorium

Presented in the form of a Buddhist allegory, this film by Prasanna Jayakody follows a young monk who is sent to a temple to restore paintings that illustrate the need to resist earthly desires. During his work, however, the monk encounters temptations of his own when a beautiful woman stirs his passions.

2006 / 87 min.

The Tender Trap (“Sankranthi”)
Sunday, March 9, 2008, 3:00 pm, Meyer Auditorium

Anuruddha Jayasinghe's film cleverly plays on the undeniable similarities between humans and primates. An elderly primatologist begins to suspect his young wife of having an affair with his assistant, so he sets out to ensnare them with a scheme based on his study of primate behavior. His "tender trap" leads to consequences none of them foresees.

2005 / 80 min.

For more information please click: http://www.asia.si.edu/events/films.asp

Free Tickets are required. Two tickets per person could be collected from the Meyer Auditorium, one hour before the screening.

Address: The Freer Gallery of Art is located at Jefferson Drive at 12th Street, SW.

Maps and Directions: http://www.asia.si.edu/visitor/maps.htm

Metro: Smithsonian