Jude Ratnam: Demons in Paradise
There are a handful of documentaries in ”La Sélection officielle 2017” at the 70th edition of the Cannes Festival, May 17-28. No surprise that films by Agnès Varda, Raymond Depardon, Claude Lanzmann and Eugene Jarecki are listed, and no surprise that world famous actress Vanessa Redgrave’s directorial debut ”Sea of Sorrow” has been taken.
But such a pleasant surprise that Jude Ratnam´s personal and highly cinematic film essay ”Demons in Paradise” stands next to Lanzmann and Redgrave in the section ”Séances Spéciales”. World premiere for the director’s first film. Here is the synopsis of the film:
“In 1983, a Sri Lankan Tamil boy escapes an ethnic massacre by fleeing on a train. Today, now 30 years later a filmmaker, he boards a new train to revisit the recently ended civil war that tore his country apart. But once war is over, how does a country stop the never-ending cycle of fear and violence when that‘s all they‘ve ever known?”
I will write a review in connection with the screening in Cannes. With great pleasure as it also brings back memories of meetings with sympathetic Jude Ratnam, who took part in the valuable Archidoc sessions conducted by Héléna Fantl from la Fémis. His sense for cinematic language was obvious at this project level.
The film is co-produced with French Julie Paratian from Sister Productions and has achieved support from the IDFA Bertha Fund. They will not be disappointed with the final result.
Sri Lanka, France, 2017, 92 mins.
http://www.festival-cannes.com/fr/infos-communiques/communique/articles/la-selection-officielle-2017