Snow

To date, Canadian director Rohan Fernando has been heavily involved in making documentaries, including the award-winning and high profile films Trudeau’s Other Children (2005), Blood and Water (2007), and Cecil’s Journey (2002). But this Friday, February 24 at the Cumberland theatre will be the opening of his first dramatic feature film Snow.

Snow tells the story of a young woman who has made her way to Canada from Sri Lanka after losing her entire family in the 2004 tsunami. After settling in Halifax, she sets out to start afresh, and has to adjust to new people, new weather, a new job, and just about everything else. Drawing on his own immigrant experiences, the film was clearly a labour of love for Fernando – he wrote, produced, and directed.

Snow follows Parvati as she begins a new life in Canada after her family is swept away in the Asian tsunami. Shot documentary-style, the film beautifully captures the sense of dislocation and melancholy that follows tragedy and hints at the rebirth and renewal that can grow out of it.