'No Fire Zone' Sinhala version to launch on 10 March 

Thursday, 05 March 2015

A new Sinhala version of award-winning documentary No Fire Zone will be launched at a press conference on Tuesday 10 March at 10am in Room 21, Palace of Westminster.

At an event in the House of Commons on Tuesday 10 March, the producers of multi-award-winning, Emmy-nominated feature documentary No Fire Zone: The Killing Fields of Sri Lanka will announce the release of a Sinhala language version of the film in what will be seen as a direct challenge to the new government over its commitment to a free media.

This controversial film exposing the war crimes and massacres committed at the end of the civil war in 2009 has been effectively banned in Sri Lanka until now – and anyone helping the film-makers threatened with prosecution.

The announcement will coincide with the visit of new Sri Lankan President Maithripala Sirisena to the UK and will take place the day before he is due to have dinner with the Queen. The release of the film in Sri Lanka will allow the majority Sinhala population to see for the first time the shocking evidence of war crimes and massacres committed at the end of the war by their own government’s forces.

The launch will be attended by No Fire Zone Director Callum Macrae, Labour MP Siobhain McDonagh, Conservative MP Lee Scott and others TBC. The meeting will also be addressed by exiled Sinhalese writer Bashana Abeywardane.

All of the above will be available for interview. Director Callum Macrae will be available for interview for two hours following the press conference and launch. Press are invited to attend or to arrange interviews down the line.

Clips from the new version of No Fire Zone (in Sinhalese and English), will be shown and made available as broadcast quality Pro-Res files for the use of broadcasters and media websites.