Perianayaki

Recent immigrant from Sri Lanka, 56-year-old Perianayaki’s day begins as it does every day - at her dead-end job stacking shelves at the local supermarket. As a result of her inability to speak English, she struggles to fit in and build meaningful relationships. Today, on her wedding anniversary, Perianayaki is forced to reconcile with the bittersweet realities of her life.

Perianayaki screened in the 2022 Whānau Mārama: New Zealand International Film Festival in NZ’s Best Competition, where the film was awarded Flicks Award for Best Short Film, NZ’s Best Audience Award, NZ’s Best Special Mention for Performance (Jeyagowri Sivakumaran), and the Creative New Zealand Emerging Talent Award (director Bala Murali Shingade). The film also screened internationally in India (Goa Film Bazaar – Winner Film Bazaar Recommends Short Film Awards), Australia, the US, and Tahiti.

Perianayaki is a slice of life character study that provokes audiences to pause, take notice, and rethink their assumptions about immigrants, particularly those in the service industry who are often rendered invisible.