TV Times

TV Times

Lester plans another film
By Susitha R. Fernando

Mr. and Mrs. Peries with the film critique Derek Elley in Cannes, France at the last Film Festival

Having seen Lester James Peries’ latest masterpiece ‘Wekande Walawwa’ (Mansion by the Lake) when it was screened at Edinburgh Film Festival film critique Derek Elley wrote to ‘Variety’ the film magazine considered as the bible of Hollywood described the film as “a pastoral elegy inspired by Anton Chekhov’s ‘The Cherry Orchard’ set in rural Sri Lanka in the late 1980s”.

However Elley was inauspicious towards the end of his article as he went on to say, “Sadly, it may prove to be the final masterpiece from this inexplicably underrated master.” But as a man who has recreated the film culture of a whole nation Dr. Peries seems that he can never get fed up of this art form that has been near and dear to him.

The groundwork has been planned and the scriptwriter already decided for the newest film on a theme which he has reflected on for a very long time. “Doing a film on a mother and a son a young Buddhist monk was fantasising in my mind for a long time,” Dr. Peries told the TV Times while explaining his plans for the future.

“This mother-son relationship, once the son has taken to robes, has always fascinated me and a roused curiosity in me. The little son who venerated and worshipped his mother all his life suddenly receives it back from the same mother. And from there onwards there is something like a flaw in the relationship,” the experienced filmmaker elaborated.

In his latest directorial venture Dr. Peries has decided to depict on celluloid this story around the two brothers. While one becomes a monk, the other joins the Army and the setting will be in distant village.

Meanwhile it is learnt- and reliably that his film ‘Wekande Walawwa” has been accepted for renowned Oscar race the first Sri Lankan direction. Asked about the importance of this rare opportunity he said “The Hollywood Oscars are for American films and there are thirty two awards in the festival and thirty one are given to the Hollywood films and there is only one award- the Best Foreign Film will be given for the rest of the world while five will be nominated”.

“There is very rare opportunity for a win but it is still worth trying and at least to nominated,”. And this year there has been no film serious enough from India to be sent for Oscars and for the seventy-five years of cinema history India has been nominated only three times. That was for “Mother India”, “Salam Bombay” and “Lagaan” last year and from the Asian category only Japan has won awards at this prestigious film festival.

The other important feature in the selection of the Best Foreign Film for an Oscar is that while 4000 film personalities select the thirty one awards for Hollywood only two hundred specialised film artistes including film critics, festival organisers and lecturers on cinema in universities and who were also obliged to watch the films before the selection.

Scripted by Somawera Senanayake the stellar cast in “Wekande Walawwe” includes Malani Fonseka, Wasanthi Chathurani, Irangani Serasinghe, Sanath Gunathilake, Ravindra Randeniya and Paboda Sandeepani. And the film is produced by Chandran Rathnam.

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