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Under Mango Trees

They were Tamil Tiger combatants, civilian victims of attacks, or displaced. Five women from the warring factions of the Sri Lankan civil war – the Tamils, Sinhalese, and the Muslims – share their memories. Both the civilian women and the fighters are traumatized. The film contrasts fighters and victims, and provides an insight into their traumas and survival strategies.

  • Damaris Lüthi
    Director
    Hippie Masala, Silk Muthappar and VHS, 1000° Celsius.
  • Damaris Lüthi
    Writer
    Hippie Masala; Silk, Muthappar and VHS, 1000° Celsius
  • Damaris Lüthi
    Producer
  • Gabriela Betschart
    Camera
  • Nathalie Berger
    Camera
    Chagrin Valley
  • Meret Madörin
    Camera
  • Amaury Berger
    Montage
    Contradict
  • Project Title (Original Language):
    Unter Mangobäumen. Frauen im sri-lankischen Bürgerkrieg.
  • Project Type:
    Documentary
  • Runtime:
    1 hour 29 minutes
  • Completion Date:
    January 23, 2025
  • Production Budget:
    230,000 CHF
  • Country of Origin:
    Switzerland
  • Country of Filming:
    Sri Lanka, Switzerland
  • Language:
    Sinhala, Swiss German, Tamil
  • Shooting Format:
    Digital
  • Aspect Ratio:
    1.78:1
  • Film Color:
    Color
  • First-time Filmmaker:
    No
  • Student Project:
    No
  • Digital Cinema Package:
    Unavailable
  • 60th Solothurn Film Festival
    Solothurn
    Switzerland
    January 23, 2025
    World Premiere
    Prix de Soleure – shortlisted
Distribution Information
  • Minimages Damaris Lüthi
    Distributor
    Country: Switzerland
    Rights: All Rights
Director Biography - Damaris Lüthi

Born 1959 in Brienz, Switzerland. Social Anthropologist with specialisation in South Asia and visual anthropology. Field research in the Tamil region of South India and among Tamils in Switzerland. Work in development cooperation with focus on South Asia. Working as a documentary filmmaker from 1991.

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Director Statement

There are hardly any films about women as combatants in war. The thematization of offenders and victims in the same film is rare too. The film is committed to individuals affected, but not to any of the warring parties. Research for the film started in 2012, three years after the end of the civil war. The focus shifted from the Tamils at the start to the other ethnic groups involved in the conflict, as it became apparent that there is war trauma everywhere including among the soldiers.