UiT Environmental Humanities gathering #30 – A Letter to Lanka with Ilakkiya Mariya Simon: Film and Discussion

Synopsis of the film A Letter to Lanka (Simon 2023, 28 min)
A Letter to Lanka moves between memories of the civil war to the present political turmoil in Sri Lanka. Told through a poetic and personal journey of the filmmaker's reconnection to land, soil, and people, it invites the audience into existential questions of belonging in a chaotic world. What does it mean to be at home in the world? What binds people together, and what can break them apart?

Doors open 12.30 at the Academy of Art (Grønnegata 2) - please feel free to join us for some informal mingling before we kick off. The plan for the rest of the session is:

13.15-13.50: introduction and film screening

13.50-14.00: short break to gather thoughts

14.00-14.45: discussion with Ilakkiya

After the discussion there will be the opportunity for anyone interested to find out more about the Environmental Humanities group at UiT, and to take part in planning events for the rest of the semester.

Ilakkiya Mariya Simon holds a Master's in Visual Anthropology from UiT (with a stipend from the Centre for Women's and Gender Research) and a BA in Social Anthropology from the University of Bergen. Prior to getting into anthropology, she was a teacher and movement practitioner from different disciplines and arts. Her experiences with movement and her Sri Lankan ancestry are what underpins her anthropological interest exploring existential themes of home, belonging, identity, and the environment. Ilakkiya is passionate about her intimate and fragmented relationship to Sri Lanka.