Ruwanthie de Chickera, script writer of the groundbreaking Sri Lankan film Machan (2008) directed by Uberto Pasolini, has collaborated with Pasonili once again on the script of a new film - The Return - a retelling of the epic legend Odessy by Homer.

The Return stars Ralph Finnes as Odysseus and Juliette Binoche as Penelope.  Audiences the world over can look forward to the reuniting of these two stars on the screen after seeing them together in the hit film The English Patient (1996) almost 30 years ago. Ironically The English Patient also links these two artists to Sri Lanka, as it is based on a book written by Sri Lankan/Canadian writer Michael Ondatje.

The Return will be released in UK, Australian and Irish cinemas from 11 April.  A preview screening of the film, with a Q&A with Fiennes and Pasolini, will be held at the the British Museum, London on 9 April.  This event will be screened live in UK cinemas.  De Chickera will be travelling to the UK to be present at this event.

De Chickera’s award-winning film Machan was her first commissioning to write a film script.  It was screened in over 50 countries and won several local and international awards including Best Film in the Venice Film festival.  After a hiatus of 15 years, she has collaborated with Pasolini once again, but this time on an ambitious and very different undertaking, tacking one of the most famous world myths, the grand story of Odysseus, but creating a script which has received considered and critical appreciation for its restrained and deft storytelling.  The Guardian recently reviewed it as “Featuring no gods, monsters, sirens, cyclops or six-headed monsters, Pasolini’s film compacts the last nine books of Homer’s epic poem into a film as lean and sinewy as its hero.”

Ruwanthie de Chickera is recognized as one of Sri Lanka’s foremost contemporary playwrights – having written over over 35 original plays and two screen plays.  She first received public attention at the age of 19 when a play she wrote won the International New Playwrighting award for South Asia by the British Council.  The play was performed at the Royal Court Theatre, making her the first Sri Lankan to have a play produced at London’s West End.

Ruwanthie is artistic director of Stages Theatre Group, one of the most respected theatre companies in Sri Lanka, set up in the year 2000 to produce cutting edge original Sri Lankan Theatre.  She currently serves on the Executive Committee of the Arts Council of Sri Lanka and the Freedom of Expression Sub-committee of the Human Rights Commission of Sri Lanka.  She is a cultural activist who writes and speaks on on issues of social justice and the integral role of the arts and the artist in nation building.