COMING SOON: REPUBLIC OF AMNESIA
Republic of Amnesia follows the rise and fall of Sri Lanka’s Aragalaya (“The Struggle”) — the non-violent protest movement that forced authoritarian president Gotabaya Rajapaksa to flee the country in 2022. At its heart are Melani, Buwanaka, Jeana, and Chamara, young activists who lead marches, face arrest, and fight for a more inclusive future. As they challenge a corrupt political dynasty and a system built to resist change, can their struggle reshape Sri Lanka — or will the forces of repression prevail?
REPUBLIC OF AMNESIA
(83 mins, United Kingdom 2025)
Directed by Kannan Arunasalam
Produced by Kannan Arunasalam, Hiran Balasuriya, Retold World,
International Centre for Ethnic Studies
Written by Kannan Arunasalam,
Hiran Balasuriya and Matt Maria
Consultant Executive
Rob Lemkin
Cinematography by Kavindu Sivaraj, Striner Adams, Riyal Riffai,
Yaseen J. Khan
and Kanapathipillai Kumanan
Edited by Hiran Balasuriya
Sound recorded by Bhanu Ekanayake
Original Score by Sami El-Enany,
Original Song ‘Kulprit’, Bo Sedkid
Colour by Jeremy Hogg
Sound design and mix by Peregrine Andrews
Sound Supervisor Sami El-Enany
Graphics by Matt Maria and
errortheory404
Director/Producer
Kannan Arunasalam is a British-Sri Lankan documentary filmmaker. His films have received wide international recognition through his work in leading platforms including Al Jazeera English, BBC, Guardian Documentaries, and The New Yorker. Kannan trained under the Al Jazeera Witness team in observational documentary filmmaking, and his last film, 'Sri Lanka’s Rebel Wife' (2022) premiered at the Frontline Club, London and was shortlisted for best documentary at the DIG Investigative film awards, Modena, Italy, before its broadcast on Al Jazeera English’s flagship human rights programme, Witness. Kannan’s previous film, 'The Tent' (2019), a two channel installation film, was the focus of his British solo exhibition at the prestigious Yorkshire Contemporary, U.K. (formerly The Tetley). Kannan is also a qualified media and human rights lawyer and was a visiting professor teaching ‘Media representations of the Sri Lankan conflict’ at Cornell University. This is his first feature film. He is currently working on his second feature film, 'Possible Landscapes,’ in collaboration with professors at Cornell.
Producer/editor
Hiran Balasuriya is a British-Sri Lankan filmmaker currently based in London, with substantial experience working for leading production companies like BBC Films in London and Kontent Films in San Francisco. Hiran has worked on many award-winning short and feature films, including 'Tell Spring Not to Come This Year', the sole feature documentary about the Afghan war from the perspective of Afghan soldiers. His directorial debut, the award-winning Sri Lankan short film 'The Joyous Farmer', has screened in festivals in America, Europe and South Asia. In New York, he has worked with ABKCO Films on the restored releases of Alejandro Jodorowsky’s films 'Fando y Lis', 'El Topo' and 'The Holy Mountain', as well as the 50th anniversary restoration of Jean Luc Godard’s 'Sympathy for the Devil'. In 2021, he edited 'Flowstate/North Brooklyn Artists', which won a New York Emmy® for Best Arts Entertainment Series. His latest project to be released, which he both edited and produced, is the feature documentary 'The Book of Harth', winner of the First Prize for Documentary Features at the Rhode Island International Film Festival and Best Feature Documentary at the inaugural edition of Kevin Smith's SmodCastle Film Festival.
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