What I Meant to Say (2021)

WHAT I MEANT TO SAY is the story of a young woman who is disowned from her family and struggles to create her own identity. When her hopes of attending her father's funeral are dashed, she fervently seeks closure and escape from her own mind. She is trapped between her past and the many masks she hides behind. The film plays like a diary that quietly unfolds as the basement room where she is physically trapped, slowly expands with her. Director, Oshini Wanigasekera, explores the uncertain path of healing by using dance as the true voice of the heart. Oshini's depiction of trauma as a force that words cannot express is subtle and honest. Her improvisational dance creates a unique portrait of her Sri Lankan Canadian experience, and fills in the silence around injustice. She depicts the painfully wide cultural gap and the lack of words to bridge the two lived experiences of her characters. Completely exposed and speaking into the camera, Oshini ultimately invites her audience to reflect on their own journeys.