Identifying Social Media Platforms in the Promotion of Sri Lankan Buddhist Films (2020–2025)

The digital transformation of film promotion has introduced new imperatives for culturally embedded cinematic traditions, none more consequential than the Buddhist film genre in Sri Lanka a form deeply entangled with national identity, devotional practice, and vernacular aesthetics. This study investigates the role and relative effectiveness of social media platforms in the promotional campaigns of Sri Lankan Buddhist films produced and distributed between 2020 and 2025, a period shaped by pandemic-induced disruptions to theatrical release and a consequent acceleration of digital mediation. Drawing on a purposively constructed dataset of one hundred promotional campaign units (n=100), sourced from production houses, digital archives, and distribution networks, the research employs a mixed-methods design integrating systematic content analysis with structured stakeholder interviews. Quantitative findings indicate that Facebook constituted the primary promotional medium in 82% of sampled campaigns, followed by YouTube (74%), Instagram (63%), TikTok (41%), WhatsApp (38%), and Twitter/X (19%). Multi-platform deployment was observed in 67% of campaigns, with Facebook advertising absorbing an average of 34% of digital marketing budgets. Qualitative analysis of eight structured interviews yielded six thematic clusters: platform–community alignment; devotional tone versus algorithmic pressure; the role of community gatekeepers and informal networks; intergenerational platform divergence; the Buddhist religious calendar as promotional architecture; and infrastructural and digital literacy constraints. These patterns are interpreted through the theoretical lenses of platform affordances, digital religion, and postcolonial media theory. The study argues that promotional effectiveness is not reducible to platform reach alone, but is conditioned by the intersection of audience demographics, content vernacularisation, and the spiritual registers through which Buddhist cinematic texts are received and shared. Findings carry significant implications for filmmakers, cultural institutions, and media policy stakeholders operating at the intersection of religion, heritage cinema, and digital communication in South Asia.

Sri Lankan Buddhist cinema, social media promotion, platform affordances, digital religion, Theravāda media studies

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