Filmmaker Statement

Junglefowl is inspired by a formative incident of my mother’s childhood and her relationship with her father. Like most Tamil refugees that suffered at the hands of the corrupt, ethno-fascist Sri Lankan state, she had to learn how to grow up very fast and re-evaluate what “home” meant to her. In the film, when one stranger intrudes in on her carefully constructed childhood, she is forced to imagine and consider a future beyond her immediate shores, without the man, her father, who taught her how to be in a world that didn’t seem to make very much sense. The production has undergone many challenges over the last two years of the pandemic, and what you’re seeing is a rough cut that was brought to life with the support of many remarkable artists, craftsmen and funding partners. But it is my hope that this film offers a more intimate, humanist perspective on this dark and violent chapter in Sri Lanka’s history, and serves as my tribute to my Amma (mother). - Kalainithan Kalaichelvan