Comes the Wind: University to host global premiere of Sri Lankan film

Roll out the red carpet: Binghamton University will host the world premiere of Comes the Wind, Lakshmi Bulathsinghala's latest work, on Dec. 3.

Playwright and filmmaker Sudath Devapriya wrote the script and directed the feature film, which will show at 5:30 p.m. Dec. 3 in Watters Theater. Bulathsinghala produced the film and also stars as its protagonist: a woman who awakens from a long coma, and searches for the child her late husband gave up for adoption in her absence.

"It's about life and love," Bulathsinghala said.

An instructor in the University's Theatre Department, Bulathsinghala is a bonafide stage, television, and film star in her native Sri Lanka, as well as a director, producer, and published author. Her first scholarly book, The Legacy of Stylistic Drama in the Creation of a Modern Sinhala Theatre in Sri Lanka, was published by Routledge in April 2024. Her first poetry book was published in 2018 in Sri Lanka, and she is in the process of finishing up a work of fiction and a Sinhala-language book on Indian theater that is contracted with a leading publisher back in her home country. She's also a two-time Binghamton alumna, earning her master's in theatre in 2010 and her doctorate in philosophy, interpretation and culture in 2018.

Since 2013, Bulathsinghala has developed and taught courses in Binghamton on South Asian dance, theatre, dance-drama styles, and Indian vocal music, as well as South Asian culture and society, women's lives in South Asia, and women in film. In 2023, she directed the mainstage musical Bera Handa for the Theatre Department; it marked the first time that this classic Sinhalese drama, freshly translated into English, was performed internationally.

Comes the Wind - the Sinhala title is සුළඟ නුඹ ඇවිදින් - is the first film Bulathsinghala has produced, and also stars the Sri Lankan actors Shyam Fernando, Roger Senevirathne, Tharindi Fernando, Chamila Pieris, Anjula Rajapaksha and Disini Yuhansa. It has already garnered acclaim, including Best Narrative Feature from the New York Independent Cinema Awards, Best Feature Film about Women from the New York International Women Festival, Best Actress from the London International Filmmakers Festival, Best Cinematography from the Tokyo International Film Festival, and Best Feature All Genre from the Los Angeles Independent Film Festival Awards, among others.

It was shot mostly in the seaside town of Galle in Sri Lanka, known for its historic architecture. The film will likely premiere commercially in Sri Lanka by early next year.

"It's another dream come true for me because I always wanted to be a producer," Bulathsinghala said. "I have been acting for many years now, starting in 1986 when I was in high school. I first entered as a theatre artist and then moved into television. I have directed and produced stage dramas and television dramas before; this is my first time producing a movie."

Producing a movie is inherently risky; while television dramas can be sold to stations, a film only makes money if people go to see it, she pointed out. By their nature, art films such as Comes the Wind draw fewer viewers than big-name blockbusters.

This likely won't be the last time that Binghamton plays a role in Sri Lanka's film scene. Plans are in the works for a movie that will be shot in both Binghamton and Sri Lanka; Bulathsinghala expects to involve University faculty and students in the film. The script is already written, although the filmmakers will need to raise funds to make it a reality, she said.

"It will be a good thing for Binghamton University to appear in an international film, and is a way for me to give back to the institution," she said.