Young love, heartbreak, and coming of age in a hidden gem of 1970s Asian cinema. Screening as part of the What’s with the Face? film programme.
The Girls
- Date:
- 16 Aug 2026,
15:00–17:00
- Age restrictions
- 18+
Gehenu Lamai
1978, Sumitra Peries
Sri Lanka
110 minutes, Sinhala with Russian subtitles
Starring: Vasanthi Chathurani, Ajith Jinadasa, Shyama Ananda
T
The first feature-length film from Sri Lanka directed by a woman. One sister is obedient and hard-working; the other is self-assured and bold. But both will see their hopes put to the test by a world that so often turns a deaf ear to a young woman’s dreams.
Shot from The Girls, 1978
One of the best films of the 1970s. Peries zooms in and out like in a Robert Altman or Nicolas Roeg film. She creates dazzling images and uncertain emotions.
—Mark Cousins, Sight & Sound
Sumitra Peries not only offered a glimpse into the world of South Asian women, never before represented on screen, but also achieved a phenomenal intimacy with her heroines—and the close-ups vividly attest to this intimacy.
