THE GIRLS © Film Heritage Foundation
Gehenu Lamai (The Girls), Sumitra Peries’s poetic look at the status of women in Sri Lanka
A young girl in love, facing social barriers. From this simple premise, director Sumitra Peries crafts a deeply moving story, a sensitive portrait of the status of women in her homeland, Sri Lanka. The delicate and poetic Gehenu Lamai (The Girls) made a huge impact upon its release in 1978, leading Peries to be recognized as a pioneer. She set off on a career that has given us works in which her devotion to social commentary shines forth. A Cannes Classics presentation.
Sumitra Peries was the first female director from Sri Lanka. Her debut came in 1978 with her film Gehenu Lamai (The Girls). In the years that followed, she went on to direct a number of feature films. Characterized by the use of minimalist sets and unpretentious long shots, her style is gentle, thoughtful. Without resorting to overt activism, she gracefully weaves tales that show what it means to be a woman in Sri Lanka’s rapidly changing society.
Her heroines are often complex, torn between duty and desire, struggling for a degree of personal freedom within a rigid sociocultural context. Peries seeks to probe the dilemmas they experience when they find themselves at that place where social conformity comes up against emancipation. She tells us the stories of these characters, their aspirations. She examines the ever-present social pressures and patriarchal norms that stifle, that suffocate them.
Gehenu Lamai (The Girls), adapted from the novel by Karunasena Jayalath, tells the story of one such character’s aspirations and how they came to be thwarted. Kusum, a young village girl from a humble background, falls in love with her cousin Nimal, a boy from a wealthy family. Hindered by social conventions and the ambitions of Nimal’s mother, their relationship drives Kusum into an existence of loneliness and renunciation.
Peries searched for the perfect actress to play Kusum. After two years of looking, she found her. A schoolgirl from Gampaha, Vasanthi Chathurani gave a performance that made her an overnight success. Today, Gehenu Lamai (The Girls) is considered a classic. It has been selected as a feature at many international festivals and has played a huge part in bringing Sri Lankan cinema to audiences and screens around the world.