Nathali Devinka
- Additional Crew
- Casting Department
- Production Manager
A Filmmaker, Television Producer, Writer, Photographer, Painter and a Mental Health Advocate, Nathali Devinka began her journey as a copywriter in JWT (J. Walter Thompson) at the age of 19. With her bigger dream to imitate life through cinema and television, she joined Sirasa TV as an Executive Producer and was later instrumental in launching Hiru TV and TV1 (ONE).
Nathali Devinka's greatest passion is speaking up in order to challenge the taboos against Mental Health in Sri Lanka and encourage people to come forth with their stories and experiences on living with mental health conditions.
Since her early childhood she has been an avid observer of her own vivid mind and would rebel against the norm. She would often be misinterpreted, misunderstood for she never resort to a life of order and was labeled a "nobody" and even bullied severely. Unable to cope up with the rising emotions she would dive into long periods of deep silence and isolation. As a result of this era of rejection and loneliness emerged many works of creative extraordinaire that would later define her profession and her way of life. Today she reflects upon her periods of darkness as her own muse.
Major depression disorder, Obsessive compulsive disorder, Anxiety and Dissociative disorder are some of the mental health conditions that Nathali has been diagnosed with and despite her acceptance and tolerance she's still under medication since 2012. Nathali survived multiple suicide attempts, was subjected to bullying both at school and workplace which lead to her first suicide attempt at 18 and was diagnosed with Schizophrenia.
In 2017, Nathali published 'Naked and Exposed', a short memoir of her personal experience on battling mental illness. Her memoir became a voice to the many voiceless victims of mental illness. With the objective of normalizing mental health in Sri Lanka, she continues to share her story on multiple platforms. Her brutal honesty has encouraged many to reach out to her with their own stories, learn the art of acceptance which is one of the biggest challenges for those suffering with mental health conditions. Her campaigns also addresses the danger behind misinformation which often leave those who suffer from mental illnesses crippled for life.
Nathali's ability to speak her heart out, her spontaneity in storytelling and her sense of humor is her greatest asset in keeping her audiences hooked despite the language or platform she uses to express.
Nathali defines her use of humor as a coping mechanism. She encourages those suffering to find their own mantra into healing and transform that energy to express their stories through cinema, music, painting, poetry, writing or any form of art that best appeals to them.
In a quest to take a leap from her advocacy work surrounding mental health, Nathali Devinka is now developing her Debut Feature Documentary film based on shocking revelations of men and women living with mental health conditions in her homeland. She hopes to dive deep into the psyche of these men and women. To give them hope not merely to survive the darkness but to find beauty amidst the wreckage of one's soul.