Little Jaffna

Lawrence Valin’s feature debut is a crime drama that tells the story of Michael — played by the director himself — a young police officer from a Tamil family, living in Paris, as he’s tasked with infiltrating a local criminal enterprise that’s funnelling money to the Eelam liberation movement back home in Sri Lanka.

Stern and always suspicious, Puvi (Puviraj Raveendran) heads a local gang that’s part of this scheme, every one of his troupe clad in vibrant clothes that match their vivacity. When Michael jumps in to help them during a fight, he’s brought into the fold, soon meeting with Aya (Vela Ramamoorthy), a former Tamil Tiger and the leader of this whole organization — who waits for him on a rooftop with a cricket bat.

Puvi and Aya become pivotal figures in Michael’s life, as friend and father figure respectively, complicating his task as the group’s next clandestine move inches closer. Increasingly confronted by what’s happening in the homeland and the reality of how France treats Tamil immigrants, Michael’s identity and loyalty are tested, pulled between the community he has finally found, and the reality that his mission is to dismantle it.

Valin’s first feature recalls Ladj Ly, another breakout director from France. Great casting, dynamic action, and sociopolitical storytelling make Little Jaffna a memorable showing, not just for the thrill of Michael’s journey, but also for the energy and colour that new voices bring to the screen.

ROBYN CITIZEN

Content advisory: explicit violence, themes of suicide