No Fire Zone: In the Killing Fields of Sri Lanka is an investigative documentary about the final weeks of the Sri Lankan Civil War. The documentary covers the period from September 2008 until the end of the war in 2009 in which thousands of Tamil people were killed by shelling and extrajudicial executions by the Sri Lankan Army including Balachandran Prabhakaran, the 12-year-old son of the slain Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) Chief Velupillai Prabhakaran. The Sri Lankan army has denied the allegations in the documentary. However, on 21 October 2015 the BBC reported that Maxwell Paranagama, a government-appointed Sri Lankan judge, says allegations the army committed war crimes during the long conflict with Tamil Tiger rebels are "credible". He went on to say there was evidence to suggest that footage obtained by the Channel 4 documentary No Fire Zone - showing prisoners naked, blindfolded, with arms tied and shot dead by soldiers - was genuine.
Synopsis
This feature documentary is the product of a three-year investigation and tells the story of the final awful months of the 26-year-long Sri Lankan civil war: This sometimes harrowing story is told by the people who lived through the war - and through some of the most dramatic and disturbing video evidence ever seen. This footage - direct evidence of war crimes, summary execution, torture and sexual violence - was recorded by both the victims and perpetrators on mobile phones and small cameras during the final 138 days of hell which form the central narrative of the film.
No Fire Zone is directed by the Nobel Peace Prize nominee Callum Macrae, a Peabody and Colombia Dupont Broadcast Journalism Award winner and Greirson and BAFTA nominee. It has already won many awards and is a nominee for an International Emmy Award 2014.
No Fire Zone has been described as something of an international phenomenon. Not just an agenda setting investigation, but a cinematic tour de force – a stunning and disturbing film in its own right. It was described as "beautifully crafted and heart wrenching” by the Pulitzer Center for Crisis Reporting in Washington, "utterly convincing" by the Globe and Mail in Toronto - and in the UK, Empire noted: "It is vitally important that this feature reaches the widest possible audience”. One critic in Australia described it as “the most devastating film I have seen”, whilst the London Film Review says "No Fire Zone shocks on every level. It shocks, it educates, and it convinces"
It has been widely praised by personalities as disparate as the rapper M.I.A and the British Prime Minister, David Cameron, who said: ”No Fire Zone is one of the most chilling documentaries I’ve watched…”
Film
In March 2013, the documentary was screened by its director, Callum Macrae, at the 22nd session of the United Nations Human Rights Council in Geneva.
The film was not released in theatres in India as Central Board of Film Certification did not approve it. In response to this attempt at censorship No fire Zone was released online for free in India and Malaysia as well as Sri Lanka and Nepal.
In November 2014 the Musician M.I.A described No Fire Zone as “the only film that gives me faith in journalism. It's not only the most important account of what happened to the Tamils, it's actually become part of the fabric of their history."
Awards and Festival Screenings
Festival des Libertes 2013 - Winner of FIDH Best Film Award. CPH:DOX Copenhagen 2013 - FACT Award Jury Special Mention Nuremberg Film Festival 2013 - Winner of Audience Award Film South Asia 2013 - Special Jury Mention. WatchDocs Poland 2014 - Winner of Audience Award One World Film Festival Prague 2014 - Winner Václav Havel Jury Special Mention Docudays UA - Kiev 2014 - Winner of Jury Special Mention. Festival internacional de Cine y Video de Derochos Humanos Buenos Aires 2013 - Winner Jury Special Mention. Oslo International film festival 2013. Movies That Matter 2013 FIFDH Geneva 2013 Tricontinental Human Right Film Festival 2013. Freedom Film Festival Malaysia 2013 Addis International film Festival 2013. Sheffield Documentary Festival 2013 No Fire Zone (TV version) was nominated for Best Documentary at the 2014 International Emmy Awards and was awarded the Britdoc Impact Award as well as being shortlisted for a Grierson award
Controversy
Despite the painstaking checking and independent verification of the footage contained within the film, the Sri Lankan government continue to maintain that the footage contained within the film is faked. However, as more and more evidence continues to emerge this position becomes ever more untenable.