Still Here

Q&A with director Suranga Katugampala, hosted by Lizzie Thynne, film-maker and professor of film at The University of Sussex

Determined to reinvent herself, a former B-movie actress leaves her two children in the care of their father and vanishes into the shifting landscape of a city under construction.

In the crumbling neighborhood where the man still lives, homes are being emptied and demolished by the unstoppable march of urban renewal.

All that remains of the woman is her fleeting presence in Natalik's Love — the only film in which she ever appeared.

Still Here explores the impact of violent urban transformation. It tells the story of a fractured family and children navigating a world where adults fade away, caught between memory, imagination, and the harsh reality of a changing city. Katugampala's work blends elements of fiction and documentary, creating a unique visual language. His approach is participatory and cross-disciplinary, often merging genre experimentation with a nuanced exploration of place.