Priyantha Pradeep Ranasinghe

The Sinhala version of the Beena Sarwar’s  international documentary film ‘Democracy in Debt: Sri Lanka – Beyond the Headlines’, produced by Priyantha Pradeep Ranasinghe under the title  ‘ණය ප්‍රජාතන්ත්‍රවාදය: ශ්‍රී ලංකාව – සිරස්තලවලින් ඔබ්බට” (26 Minutes), will be screened at the Sri Lanka Press Institute, Colombo, this month (July 30) at 4.00 p.m.
Beena Sarwa, a Pakistani multimedia journalist and producer currently residing in the US, who produced the original film, will join the event.

Originally produced in English with the support of the Pulitzer Center in the United States, the 25-minute documentary was released last year. Filmed in both Dutuwewa, a remote village in Sri Lanka, and Colombo, the documentary presents a compelling, multi-layered narrative that explores universal issues of governance, accountability, and the resilience of democratic hopes. While deeply rooted in the Sri Lankan context, its message resonates across borders in countries such as India, Bangladesh, and the United States, where people continue to fight for democratic values and transparency.

Ahead of Sri Lanka’s recent presidential election, the film was screened at several venues in Sri Lanka, Pakistan, and the United States. Its critical success led to further screenings at more than 70 venues in nearly 20 countries, spanning five continents. The film received favourable reviews from prominent media outlets, including The Wire in India and Dawn in Pakistan.

The Sinhala version is particularly significant for Sri Lanka, as it is believed to be the first time an international documentary has been produced in Sinhala. The film also predicted the social and political transformation that followed the country’s presidential election in 2024, making it a timely and relevant contribution to the national conversation.

Beena Sarwar is a respected multimedia journalist, editor, and documentary filmmaker. She has held senior editorial positions in leading print and television media in Pakistan and has been a founding member of several key media initiatives, including Himal Southasian magazine and Panos South Asia. She holds a Master’s degree in Television Documentary from Goldsmiths, University of London, and has received prestigious fellowships from the Nieman Foundation for Journalism at Harvard University and the Carr Center for Human Rights Policy at the Harvard Kennedy School.

Since 2011, she has lived in the Boston area in the United States and has taught journalism at institutions such as Princeton University, Brown University, Harvard Summer School, and Emerson College. In 2021, she launched Sapan News, an independent media outlet offering a syndicated features service. The platform evolved from the Southasia Peace Action Network (Sapan), a volunteer-led regional peace initiative launched earlier that year.

The Sinhala production, translation, adaptation and advisory role for the film was undertaken by Priyantha Pradeep Ranasinghe, a seasoned journalist with more than 20 years of experience in print, electronic, and digital media in Sri Lanka. He has worked at leading national media organisations and played a vital role in making the documentary accessible to Sinhala-speaking audiences.
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We invite you to provide media coverage on this event and join us in watching the film.

Venue – Sri Lanka Press Institute, 96, Kirula Road, Colombo 5, Sri Lanka
Date & Time –  July 30 th Wednesday 2025, at 4.00 – 6.00 p.m.,
For  more information – 0717640015

Priyantha Pradeep Ranasinghe
0773124550

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දර්ශන හා පින්තුර පහත ඇත
The videos and pictures are below.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ax1OvuWWqVE