Screened at the Edinburgh Film Festival in June, “Him, Here, After” is writer and director Asoka Handagama’s portrayal of life after the civil war in Sri Lanka, tackling the feat of representing the the social problems left in its wake.

Handagama sets this Tamil tale in the time “after”: after the war, after the trauma, after the return. For Handagama’s unnamed protagonist, “Him,” returning to his former life in the city of Jaffna proves impossible. Greeted by his neighbours with suspicion, hostility and accusations, he struggles to find a job and to reconnect with the lover he left behind, who in his absence married another man to save herself from conscription by the rebels. In a bitter irony, he now faces extortion when trying to get a new driver’s license, mirroring the “war taxes” extorted from villagers by the rebels during the long conflict. When he finally…more.

Showtimes for “Him, Here, After” at TIFF this year:

Friday, September 7
9:00pm
Cineplex Yonge & Dundas 6

Monday, September 10
3:15pm
TIFF Bell Lightbox 2

Saturday, September 15
9:30pm
TIFF Bell Lightbox 3

-Image courtesy of TIFF.