Shyam wins Best Actor in Chathura’s ‘One Blood’
Talented Shyam Fernando won the Best Actor award at the 1st Hollywood Venus Awards short film festival for his role‘One Blood’, debut direction by Chathura Vimarsha Fernando.
Written and directed by Chathura, the short film is played by Shyam Fernando, Charindra Chandrasena and Chaviru Perera.
Hollywood Venus Awards is an online short film festival of International Cinema Community (ICC), an independent organisation which aims to create a platform to provide international network for the filmmakers who want to go global.
‘ICC is independent. Because of this, we don’t give the money prize but the community has a good quality and it’s international. Films will be examined in detail. It will be fair. Our goal is just discovering talents and helping them; rewarding filmmakers and encouraging them. This is one of the main principles of our community’, stated in the ICC website.
There were over 100 films out of which about 50 films were in official selection.
‘One Blood’ was one of final 15 selections that was selected for awards.
Revolving around a lawyer father and his son who are holding ideologically opposing views, the film depicts how at an unexpected moment the duo clash and this leads to a completely tragic end.
Story opens with son as a child walking on the beach with his father and they are speaking about the future. While the father describes his plans for son’s future, the son starts narrating about a nightmare he had experienced the previous night. The son says in his dream he saw a small serpent who ate a big one. The scene changes to a conflict between the son and the father. The father wants his son to be the mirror of his own, but son wants to be independent and be on his own. The son, a budding lawyer challenges his father, a senior in the trade in a court case relating to squatters who faced injustice with an attack by the police. The father represents the authorities and he wants his son to get out of the case.
In the middle of the argument, both father and son burst out with bottled up memories relating to their relationship and specially those connected to the mother in the family. The son accuses the father with regard to his abandonment of his mother and the father retorts and accuses the mother about her weaknesses. The argument get worst and goes out of control as the old bitter memories outpoured hurts each other. Lost self-control, the father attacks his son with a bottle and this leads to a situation where both the father and the son are forced to suffer physically, psychologically and emotionally for the rest of their lives.
Behind the screen, Sachith Buddhika Manamperi and Vimukthi Solanga Arachchi handle cinematography, editing and colouring, production designer is Kasun Rajeewa and sound designing and foley by Thanushka Sanjaya.
Makeup by Lakshika Sankalpa Jayakody, assistant director is Malindu Kavinda Kumarasinghe, production manager-Sashika Anushan Munasinghe, 2nd Assitant directors are Tishan Sandaruwan Dewanarayana and Chamidu Munasinghe, gaffer Shirly Shiron and production supervisor Prabhath Agampodi.
To the music direction of Hansa Fernando, vocal rendition for the theme song is by Dinalie Liyanage.
‘One Blood’ was selected for several international film festivals including the Liftoff London Film Festival in 2019 and the film reached one of the final 50 films out of over 1000 films. Chathura, an Image Art BA honours graduate from Kelaniya University is a consultant lecturere at the National Innovation Centre of the National Institute of Business Management (NIBM).
Young director Chathura Vimarsha Fernando
Shyam Fernando in a scene from ‘One Blood’