MOVING IMAGES
www.movingimages.asia
Supported by Moving Images is a series of
stunning audio, video and
Groundviews photographic portraits on
www.groundviews.org facets of life in post-war Sri
Lanka.
These high-definition
productions, the country’s first,
range from portraits of
resilience from the war ravaged
Jaffna and reflections on the
Eurasian community by the
last surviving Eurasians
themselves to fascinating lives
in Colombo invisible even to
most who live and work in the
city.
Produced for and supported by
Groundviews, the critically
acclaimed citizen journalism
website, this unique content is
available in full online.
For details of the productions,
please contact:
Sanjana Hattotuwa
sanjana@groundviews.org
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Producers & productions
WALKABOUT: Slave Island
An audio slideshow in twelve parts

The post-war drive for development across Sri Lanka has been inexorable. So much so that the Urban
Development Authority has been taken over by the Defence Ministry – sending out a message to citizens
that development has now become a battle of sorts, to be fought – and won – with the same relentless
determination as the last.

Colombo too is undergoing a planned metamorphosis into a city more modern, more efficient and more
beautiful – but at what cost? Slave Island’s proximity to the commercial hub of the city makes it one of the
main focuses of this proposed development – which means that soon, it will look and feel very different to
what it is now.

WALKABOUT: Slave Island is an opportunity to get to know the texture and nature of this area in all its
colour and chaos, through the personalities of 12 of its residents. Their personal stories will hint at the
complexity of living in such a locality – where cultures clash with security concerns; where industry coexists
with poverty; where age-old traditions come to grips with newer trades.

Sharni Jayawardena is a writer, editor and documentary filmmaker who is making an unambiguous
transition from the moving image to still photography. She is a member of a new non-profit partnership
exploring how different media and art forms could creatively document people, processes and places.
Sharni is committed to promoting documentary practice in Sri Lanka.

Tarika Wickremeratne is a journalist, freelance writer and amateur photographer who thrives on
creativity, in all its forms. Having worked as a Producer and Presenter for Young Asia Television, she
discovered her interest in social documentary and was intrigued by its potential to positively impact on
people and communities. Tarika recently relocated to Sydney, Australia where she is pursuing her interest
in creative media and community development.
Website: http://thebohemiangypsy.wordpress.com

How does a taxi driver take the sick to hospital when there's no fuel around?

How does a newspaper publish news of bombs and deaths without newsprint?

And how does a community with leprosy survive despair and isolation?

Koothu, kerosene and paper: portraits of resilience, expression and survival about the people of
Jaffna, Sri Lanka

Kannan Arunasalam was born in Jaffna, grew up in London, and returned to Sri Lanka in 2005, where
he now lives and works. He focuses on narrative journalism using new media, radio and film. He has been a
correspondent for Radio Netherlands Worldwide on its human rights programme since 2008. Kannan's
latest project http://iam.lk explores regional identity through the lives of 36 elders, in sound and image.

A Lost White Tribe - The Eurasians of Sri Lanka

A Lost White Tribe –the Eurasians of Sri Lanka is a personal look at some of the last the remaining
‘Eurasians’. The once identifiable Eurasian presence, remnants of a colonial legacy, is now no more. This is
the start of a personal journey and the main focus is on those whose roots are in the ‘planting’ community.
The people who shared their personal stories and memories did just that, so the presentations are a
collection of memory and particular personal stories and not an attempt chronicle a ‘history’.

Menika van der Poorten’s photography includes personal exhibition work and freelance commissions.
She has exhibited widely, both locally and internationally. Her photographic practice is informed by living
between different cultures and communities. Interested in different ways of narrating stories she is
influenced by memory, spaces, personal stories, and the mundane bits of life. Menika has been involved in
Photographic education both here and in London for over 20 years and the development of photography
education is a major areas of interest as is the concern for promoting documentation.
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Groundviews & CPA

www.cpalanka.org
The Centre for Policy Alternatives (CPA) is an independent, non-partisan organisation
that focuses primarily on issues of governance and conflict resolution. Formed in 1996 in the
firm belief that the vital contribution of civil society to the public policy debate is in need of
strengthening, CPA is committed to programmes of research and advocacy through which
public policy is critiqued, alternatives identified and disseminated.

www.groundviews.org
Sri Lanka's first and international award-winning citizens journalism website, Groundviews
uses a range of genres and media to highlight alternative perspectives on governance, human
rights, the arts and literature, peacebuilding and other issues. The site has won two
international awards for the quality of its journalism, including the prestigious Manthan Award
South Asia in 2009. The grand jury’s evaluation of the site noted, “What no media dares to
report, Groundviews publicly exposes. It’s a new age media for a new Sri Lanka... Free media
at it’s very best!”

Image on first page courtesy Kannan Arunasalam from his video production ‘kerosene’.