Suis-je aussi un rêve?

I arrived in Switzerland in 2009, as an asylum seeker coming from Sri Lanka. I was 19. Three years later, during an uneventful afternoon, I suddenly started to feel dizzy and I fainted. In order to find what had caused such a violent sensation, I started recalling the years that I had spent in exile through the visual traces of my past journey.

Is it enough for me to dive into archive pictures to do this? To free myself from these emotions, which overwhelm me, and push them away, I have taken other artistic forms of cinema in hand… - Keerthigan Sivakumar

  • Keerthigan Sivakumar
    Director
  • Keerthigan Sivakumar
    Writer
  • Jean-Guillaume Sonnier (ECAL)
    Producer
  • Project Title (Original Language):
    நானும் ஓர் கனவோ?
  • Project Type:
    Documentary, Experimental, Short, Student
  • Runtime:
    17 minutes 40 seconds
  • Completion Date:
    September 30, 2020
  • Production Budget:
    400 USD
  • Country of Origin:
    Switzerland
  • Country of Filming:
    Switzerland
  • Language:
    French, Tamil
  • Shooting Format:
    Digital
  • Aspect Ratio:
    16:9
  • Film Color:
    Color
  • First-time Filmmaker:
    No
  • Student Project:
    Yes - University of Arts, Lausanne
Distribution Information
  • University of art and design, Lausanne (ECAL)
    Distributor
    Country: Switzerland
    Rights: All Rights
Director Biography - Keerthigan Sivakumar

I arrived as a Sri Lankan Tamil refugee in 2009, currently residing in Lausanne, Switzerland. My interest in cinema has affirmed during the last stage of the civil war of Sri Lanka.

During my studies at ERACOM (French School of Art and Communication) (2014-2016), I'm very honoured to have the opportunity to present my film in the short film competition for undocumented migrants at the SHNIT (International short films festival) in Bern, 2015 and won the grand prize. I am currently studying a bachelor in cinema at the ECAL (University of art and design, Lausanne).

Add Director Biography
Director Statement

This film is about me, my past and my family. Through the journey of this film, I try to show what I have lost, what I am looking for, and what I was able to find during my asylum journey. This film is an experimental work to motivate myself in order to find the causes of my dizziness crises.

I mainly tell my story and experiences with archive pictures that I have reconnected; I have asked my parents to send me the footage I had taken 15 years ago in Sri Lanka. Everything that you see is therefore part of my truth, which has been catalysed by the power of cinema.