Lenin M. Sivam’s insightful drama explores the paths of three young Tamil immigrants grappling with gang violence in their Toronto community.

A fatal gang shooting on a quiet suburban street sets into motion a chain of events that changes the lives of three young men forever. Anpu is an intelligent but isolated underachiever whose strained relationship with his strict disciplinarian father forces him to seek out respect and a sense of belonging in all the wrong places. Kumar is a charismatic gang leader desperate to break free from the cycle of violence and code of honour that hold his crew together for the sake of his brash, younger brother. Far removed from this world is the ambitious university student Ahilan who, having overcome enormous hardship, is on the cusp of realizing his biggest dreams. Bearing the unseen scars of Sri Lanka’s devastating civil war, their worlds collide one fateful Saturday that begins like any other day.

Films have always fascinated me. I find their ability to cut across cultures and languages to tell important stories of ourselves and those around us to be nothing short of magic. It was a strong desire to be a part of this magic that drove me to filmmaking. My father was a playwright, actor and director and understood how strong that pull can be. He encouraged me to have big dreams and then ferociously pursue them. He remains my greatest inspiration and my greatest teacher. I also continue to learn a great deal by watching the films of master directors and by constantly experimenting with new ideas and stories. The subject matter I chose in 1999 is important for its topicality and universality. The movie explores the unique challenges faced by immigrants who are survivors of devastating armed conflicts in other countries. Growing up in Toronto, I experienced many challenges (and by that token availed myself of many opportunities) as a Tamil who escaped the brutalizing civil war in Sri Lanka. Through the eyes of my three main characters, I wanted capture a previously untold story about the immigrant experience by focusing my lens on youth who have to negotiate a hyphenated new reality in Canada. Consequently, I dove into the topic of youth violence and why many of these immigrant youth fall prey to gang culture. Though the film is not based on a true story, real-life events that took place in the late 1990s in Toronto and my own experiences as a first-generation Tamil Canadian were what inspired this film. After conducting extensive research over two years that included interviews with youth workers and reformed gang members, I wrote the script with the hope that it would accurately reflect the thoughts and emotions of those who inspired the film and its characters. Judging by the tremendous reception and grassroots support of the movie in the Tamil diaspora community in Canada and around the world and the fact that it has started to garner critical acclaim on the international film festival circuit, it would appear that we managed to do this story some justice.