First Ever Sri Lankan Film Festival Launched in the United States
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Left to Right: Dr.Deen Axelrod (C.E.O. Direct Relief), Dr. Lalith Chandradasa,(Consul General for Sri Lanka), Aruni Boteju (Founder, Ceylon Film Festival Corp), Keshini Wijeguneratne (Director, Project Management & Public Relations, Sri Lanka Foundation), Dr. Nandi Jasentuliyana (Deputy Director General)
Aruni Boteju, Founder of the Ceylon International Film Festival Corporation launched the first ever Sri Lanka Film Festival (SLFF-USA) last month in Santa Barbara, USA with a simple Ceremony. Santa Barbara, the city of arts and culture is considered the Riviera of America, the home of the famous Santa Barbara Film Festival- SBFF. It is reputed as the original ‘Hollywood’ in California where the first American major film studio was built in 1910 which produced many silent films.
Present among the large gathering of guests were the Mayor of Santa Barbara, Cathy Murillo, Consul General of Sri Lanka, Dr Lalith Chandradasa, Director of Direct Relief International, Dean Axelrod and Direct Relief Emergency Officer Chris Alleway,
The support of Direct Relief International is highly valued as it is not only sponsoring the festival and its launch but also it has already sent shiploads of medical equipment, to help deal with the pandemic in Sri Lanka.
Documentary trailers were screened depicting the historical heritage and cultural sites of Sri Lanka that attract filmmakers who have taken advantage of tropical forests, mesmerizing highlands and pristine beaches to make it the location for many western movies, including the Oscar Winning movies – ‘Bridge over River Kawi’, ‘Elephant Walk’ and notably, Stephen Spielberg’s ‘Temple of Doom’. Addressing the large gathering the keynote speaker gave a glimpse of the Island’s film industry and noting that the Island then known as Ceylon was introduced to the films early in the 19th century by the British occupants when the first film screening happened in 1901. In 1903, photographer A.W. Andree, of Jaffna, Sri Lanka, was the first Ceylonese to form a local film company – Coric Bioscope. Having acquired a projector from abroad and gained access to an auditorium he began to screen silent films from Europe.
1947 marked the debut of the first film produced by a Sri Lankan called Kadawunu Poronduwa, or The ‘Broken Promise.’ This marked a new era for the industry, and with time a slew of films followed, and a number of them have won.
international recognition.
Over the next few decades, artists attempted to breathe new life into the industry. These include Dr. D.B. Nihalsingha with Weilkatara, Sri Lanka’s first film in Cinemascope ratio wide screen in 1972; Vasantha Obeysekera who followed up his well-received debut Ves Gatho culminating with Palangetiyo in 1979.
Another major director who stepped forward during this time is Dharmasena Pathiraja who examined the tensions of city youth in such works as Bambaru Awith and Ahas Gauwa. Among the movies, Prasanna Vithanage’s film Purahanda Kaluwara, or ‘Darkness on Full Moon’ is widely considered one of the best movies made in Sri Lanka, as is Vimukthi Jayasundara’s Sulanga Enu Pinisa, or ‘Forsekan Land’ which won the coveted Camera d’Or for best first film at the 2005 Cannes Film Festival.
Over the next few decades, artists such as Tissa Abeysekara, Chandran Rutnam, Udayakantha Warnasooriya, H.D. Premaratne, and Ashoka Handagama, were among the brilliant movie makers ably supported by exquisite cinematography of Dr. D. B. Nihalsinghe and other cinematographers who enriched the Sri Lankan movie industry. There are host of other creative film makers too who followed these iconic film makers and continue to enrich the industry.
The most prestigious and influential filmmaker in the country, Dr. Lester James Peries, was the first to reach for the stars and achieve global acclaim. With many awards to his name, he was the first Sri Lankan to earn the prestigious award at the Venice Film Festival in 1972. Several other movies by leading producers have been shown at the Cannes, Venice, and London film festivals.
Sri Lanka’s film industry has been a fountain of fine literary films. Most of these works are based on Sinhala literature with controversial themes such as family relations, terrorism, abortions, and anguish.
During and following
Sri Lankan Civil War that ended in 2009, several films began to explore gritty subjects such as the results of the conflict between the military and brutal Tamil Tigers in the north. Sri Lankan cinema encompasses the films made almost exclusively in Sri Lanka both in Sinhala and Tamil, and the cinema has now become a flourishing industry.
The forthcoming festival is designed to depict the rich and vibrant canvas of Sri Lanka’s films made through the creative eyes of the award-winning Producers, Directors, writers, and actors, who are our eyes to the world, and who put our world in the broader context of history and act as advocates of a range of issues that impact society.
(Report based on the Keynote speech made by Nandi Jasentuliyana, Former Deputy Director General of the United Nations at the launch of the film festival)
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