The Red Mustang, follows a young, desperate graduate who gets more than she bargains for when she goes for an interview with a powerful company CEO. The Red Mustang is the first ever Sri Lankan fiction film to discuss sexual harassment, and addresses many of the inequities that women encounter here in South Asia and the world over.
The French short film Un grand silence, by Julie Gourdain will be screened on March 13 at 7pm at the Alliance Française de Kotte. The film is about Marianne who is 19 years old in 1968. She is placed in a home for young girls away from her family and close friends. In this house, Marianne meets young girls who have a secret that impact their lives.
The screening will be followed by the Sri Lankan short film The Red Mustang by Rehan Mudannayake. The film is a dark, suspenseful drama that tackles topical themes of sexual harassment, and the abuse and manipulation of power. The film follows a young, desperate graduate who gets more than she bargains for when she goes for an interview with a powerful company CEO. It is the first ever Sri Lankan fiction film to discuss sexual harassment, and addresses many of the inequities that women encounter here in South Asia and the world over.
At 7:50 pm a debate moderated by Kinita Shenoy with the crew of The Red Mustang: Rehan Mudannayake, Francesca Mudannayake and Dulika Jayamanne will take place. Mudannayake, 27, is a film director, critic, video installation artist and founder of the film/advertising company odyssey. His previous works have been screened at the MOSAIC Film Festival in Toronto (Insecxtual, Grand Jury Prize nominee, 2012), the International Film Competition Festival in Jakarta, Indonesia (Elephant, Silver Medal, 2016), International Filmmaker Festival Of World Cinema in London (Elephant, Triple-Nominee, 2017) the Dhaka International Festival (Best Short), at the Theertha Red Dot Gallery in Colombo (The Imprint of L.F., 2015), the Barefoot Gallery in Colombo (Elsz – Blue Scar, 2015), the British Council and the Harold Pieris Gallery (Elephant, 2015).
His short film, Elephant (2015) is about a young man who travels down south to clean out his deceased aunt’s house and stumbles upon a series of postcards which reveal something he is not meant to know. It is the first ever narrative short film to focus on Colombo. Elephant was recently selected for the International Filmmaker Festival of World Cinema in London – where it was nominated for three awards – and the International Film Competition Festival in Jakarta, Indonesia, where it won a Silver Medal. His second short, Ladies Night, was about a disturbed man who obsessively stalks and harasses his ex-girlfriend. It deals with topical themes of harassment, abuse and impunity.
His most recent film, The Red Mustang, follows a young, desperate graduate who gets more than she bargains for when she goes for an interview with a powerful company CEO. The Red Mustang is the first ever Sri Lankan fiction film to discuss sexual harassment, and addresses many of the inequities that women encounter here in South Asia and the world over. It is currently being submitted to film festivals.
Mudannayake lives and works in Colombo, Sri Lanka, where he directs films for corporates, runs a colonial bungalow, and curates Upfront: an Artist Forum series that gives top Sri Lankan artists a platform to present and discuss their work with the public.
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