Wattamadu: The Stolen Harvest

A story of farmers in Eastern Sri Lanka fighting to protect their ancestral paddy lands from systematic land grabbing. 

Duration: 60 Minutes
Language: Tamil with English and Sinhala Subtitles
Country of origin: Sri Lanka

Directed and edited by: Baazir Kaleelur Rahman
Produced by: Activists Without Borders Co-produced by: PRG Sri Lanka Associate producer: Badr Zaman Mustapha
In association with: Ampara District Alliance for Land Rights and Voices Movement

Land rights are human rights – yet for many in Sri Lanka, these rights remain under threat. In the wake of a decades-long civil war, minority communities have endured widespread displacement and systematic land seizures carried out by state authorities and armed actors. Even in the post-war years, these injustices continue under new guises.

This film focuses on the Eastern Province, in the Ampara District, where thousands of acres of fertile paddy land have been reclassified and taken over as forest reserves. For generations, these lands sustained farming communities – but today, hundreds of families find themselves cut off from their livelihoods, with no compensation and even less recourse to justice.

Through the voices and experiences of affected farmers, the film exposes the human cost behind legal complexities and contested narratives. It reveals how power has been misused, leaving vulnerable communities struggling to reclaim what is rightfully theirs.

By shedding light on this ongoing issue, the film calls for accountability and recognition of land as a fundamental human right. Ultimately, Story of Wattamadu stands as a powerful reminder that this is not an isolated case, but one of many stories of land dispossession across Sri Lanka.

About the Filmmaker

Baazir Kaleelur Rahman is a British-Sri Lankan independent documentary filmmaker and rights activist, currently working at a wildlife trust in the UK. He is the founding director of People’s Rights Group (PRG Sri Lanka) and collaborates with Activists Without Borders and several other international organisations on human rights and environmental issues.

Baazir holds an MBA in Humanitarian Action from Roxbourg, Switzerland, and an MA in Documentary Production from the University of Salford, UK, where he achieved a first-class degree and won the Prize for Outstanding TV Documentary Practical Research Project award.

His recent documentary, The Killing Travellers: Kurukkalmadam Massacre, has been screened at numerous international film festivals, received widespread media coverage, and made a significant impact.

Baazir, formerly a journalist, has been actively involved in a wide range of campaigns and has produced powerful documentaries that expose both human and environmental injustices. Find out more about Baazir here

Premiere and Panel Discussions

A special screening of the documentary was held on 10 May 2026 in Akkaraipattu, Sri Lanka, where the story strongly resonates with local communities. The event brought together farmers, contributors, government officials, and members of the public, with hundreds attending the screening and taking part in a panel discussion afterwards.

Current ruling party Member of Parliament Athambawa Aboobucker attended the event alongside government officers and local farmers, where participants shared their reflections on the issues raised in the film and the ongoing struggles faced by farming communities in the region.

The event was organised by the Wattamadu Farmers Federation in association with Voices Movement and the Ampara District Alliance for Land Rights (ADALR), creating a space for dialogue, awareness, and community engagement around land rights and justice.

A discussion and screening of Wattamadu: The Stolen Harvest was held on 15 May 2026 in Batticaloa, Sri Lanka, bringing together activists, academics, intellectuals, and community members to reflect on the importance of documenting injustice through visual storytelling.

Organised by Activists Without Borders in collaboration with the Centre for Educational Excellence and Leadership Studies and KR TV Network, the event featured discussions on the role of documentary filmmaking in raising awareness, preserving community voices, and supporting struggles for justice and accountability.

Participants shared their feedback following the screening, highlighting the importance of visual storytelling in amplifying marginalised voices and documenting land rights issues and social injustices affecting vulnerable communities in Sri Lanka.

Media Coverage

Activists Without Borders’ Press Release
Wattamadu: The Stolen Harvest Highlights Ongoing Struggles Over Land, Rights, and Justice in Sri Lanka

People’s Rights Groups
Wattamadu: The Stolen Harvest film sheds light on institutionalised racism in Sri Lanka

Geneva Times
From War to Bureaucracy: Does Wattamadu: The Stolen Harvest Expose Institutional Discrimination in Sri Lanka?

Colombo Wire
NPP MP Promises to Raise Wattamadu Land Issue Following Documentary Premiere

Reviews & Comments

A powerful narrative of the silenced voices of the farmers of Wattamadu. Caught between the LTTE and the Army and the STF during the days of war, their story of dispossession has evolved into a conflict with local bureaucrats, and the Forest Department, and into conflicts between cattle grazers and farmers.
Sumathy Sivamohan, Professor

This is an excellent documentary by Baazir Kaleelur Rahman. It talks about the continuation of war time atrocities by Muslims in Wattamadu. These are the real stories that define the political future of Muslims. His other documentary ‘Killing the Travellers’ spoke about the Muslims who were killed by LTTE and buried in mass graves in Kurrukkalmadam. This is also an effort to retain collective memory. It is important since asserting the sovereign self of Muslims is essential to claim the right to justice.

Shifana Niyas, Researcher

Stills from the Film

Film & Trailer