Nun Other Than

In the immediate aftermath of the Sri Lankan insurrection of 1971, while the leadership of the JVP, the insurgent political party, was incarcerated, some JVP activists made attempts to revive their movement. A young Catholic nun in a convent in Colombo, exposed to these activists, develops an empathy with the JVP cause, fired by her sense of injustice. Her engagement with these revolutionaries, soon joined by their leaders who were released from prison in late 1977, takes her on a tumultuous spiritual and political roller-coaster where she finds her loyalties leaning more towards party activism than her religious obligations. Finally, she reaches a crisis point and is compelled to make a choice between the two, but she continues to question her own decisions in the context of a rapidly changing political landscape in the 1980s and a resultant dramatic shift in the JVPs outlook and strategy.

Directed by Udan Fernando, Nun Other Than leans on a strong ensemble — Dinara Punchihewa — to carry a story that balances spectacle with character.

The film landed with audiences for its craft and performances, and remains one of the most talked-about documentary titles of 2024.