Jeremy Irons to Star in Sri Lankan Drama ‘Rihana’ as Country Courts Global Filmmakers
Sri Lanka’s Sumathi Studios is making a splash at Cannes with its first major international production in nearly a decade. The company unveiled “Rihana,” a female-led human rights drama starring Oscar winner Jeremy Irons, during the festival’s market this week.
The film follows a young Sri Lankan Tamil Muslim woman, played by Vidhushika Ramaraj, who is sent to work as a domestic helper in the Gulf. She is wrongly accused of killing an infant in her care. Irons portrays a human rights activist who fights for her freedom.
Veteran filmmaker Chandran Rutnam—whose credits include line producing “Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom” and directing Ben Kingsley in “A Common Man”—wrote and directed the project. It marks a return to production for Sumathi Studios after a decade-long pause.
“We wanted a story we could tell the world,” producer Jagath Sumathipala said. “Our aim is to bring Sri Lankan narratives beyond our shores.”
Shot entirely in Sri Lanka, the film used studio sets and AI to double for Saudi Arabia. Locations ranged from the capital Colombo to the historic city of Galle, the central hill town of Kandy, and the government-run Ranminithanna Tele Cinema Village in the south.
The multilingual script—in English, Arabic, Tamil, and Sinhalese—is unusual for Sri Lankan cinema, where most productions are in Sinhalese.
Sumathi Studios, founded in the 1970s by Sumathipala’s late father, built a reputation for socially conscious dramas. His mother, Milina Sumathipala, later became one of the country’s first internationally recognized female producers.
Sumathipala hopes “Rihana” does more than tell a powerful story. “We want to raise Sri Lanka’s profile as a place to shoot,” he said. “We have stunning locations and a new generation of talent ready to work.”
The country, a popular filming destination before its civil war ended in 2009, is slowly recovering after Covid and an economic crisis. Thai director Apichatpong Weerasethakul is currently shooting “Jenjira’s Magnificent Dream” in the central highlands.
“Rihana” screens at the Cannes Marché on May 20.