IPF at the London Premiere of No Fire Zone

As an aspiring journalist, it’s always an honour to be invited to the premiere of a documentary. But being invited to the premier of No Fire Zone was more than just an honour, it was something that left me with a strong message I know I will never forget.

I was in tears within minutes of the film starting. It was an absolutely heartbreaking documentary to sit through and left me feeling all kinds of emotions for days to come. But more than anything else was the overwhelming sense of guilt that filled me as the credits rolled across the screen and the lights slowly turned back on. Director Callum Macrae and Channel 4 presenter Jon Snow took their seats on the stage to begin the post-screening Q&A and I knew I should be paying attention to what they were about to say but I couldn’t get over what I had just seen. Anyone who has watched the documentary will understand exactly what I mean: you really do need a few minutes to reflect on the information you have just been given before you can snap yourself back into reality.

As someone who reads the news religiously and is a total nerd about these things, I couldn’t understand how it was possible that I wasn’t aware about Sri Lanka’s war crimes against it’s people. Sure, I had known that there had been quite an intense civil war in Sri Lanka, but I had no idea of the extent to which the government slaughtered innocent people simply for political gain. And that’s why I felt so guilty: how could the world have let this happen?

The documentary recounts the events of the last few weeks of the civil war through a collaboration of citizen videos and gruesome recordings from military soldiers themselves. There were moments in between scenes when the room was just filled with pin drop silence: everyone so in disbelief at what they had just seen and so scared to even breathe as they anticipate what they’re going to see next. Scenes of children crying out for their murdered parents and of parents cradling their dead child were all too much to bear witness to. Those scenes were made worse by the way the rest of the world had been tricked by the Sri Lankan government into believing that there was nothing to worry about. There was a mutual sense of emotion felt by everyone watching: we knew the international community had failed on every level.

That guilt slowly translates into anger and you suddenly have a room full of people who had never heard about these war crimes before, but now felt as though they could dedicate their lives to fighting for the victims. And that’s why Macrae’s film is so effective: the clips may be incredibly difficult to watch, but they tap into emotions that will ignite change. No one can come away from watching No Fire Zone without the burning urge to campaign as much as humanly possible to bring Sri Lanka’s government to justice for what he has done.

Director Callum Macrae and Channel 4’s Jon Snow during the post-screening Q&A.

Later this year the Commonwealth Heads of Government meeting is due to take place in Sri Lanka. Before then, Macrae and his team intend to travel the world and show diplomats everywhere their film that exposes the Sri Lankan government for it’s atrocious war crimes and gives it no basis to continue denying what they have done to their people. I truly believe that it is so important for people all over the world become aware of the lies Sri Lanka’s government is telling the world and so important that world leaders push for a proper investigation into these war crimes.

I can’t explain why No Fire Zone is so stirring. In my review for the London Film Review, I gave the documentary 5/5 stars, but found it incredibly difficult to explain why. To feel the way I now do about this issue, you need to watch the film. If you do, I guarantee you will come away wanting to do everything in your power for the people of Sri Lanka who have suffered long enough under their government and deserve justice that is long overdue.

You can rent No Fire Zone here to watch it now, or follow them on Twitter to keep up to date with their campaigning process.

Image credit: No Fire Zone