The year is 1934 – a time long before film was introduced to colour and Dolby Digital, when the world was still seen only in black and white through shaky images. The opening scene is a thovil (exorcism) ceremony with the haunting music of a rare Sinhala verse playing in the background, followed by an equally eerie mix of horns, strings, cymbals and bass, recorded in poor quality, but effective and terrifyingly beautiful all the same.

Kokkilai was the scene of a horrific massacre in 1984 when the LTTE killed over a hundred innocent civilians including fishermen. The war is over, but this time another war is being unleashed in the Kokkilai Sanctuary – a war against nature. A large forested area in and around the western side of Kokkilai Lagoon has been cleared using heavy machinery since last week. Some people from Pulmoddai in the Kuchaveli area are behind this destruction, according to local sources.