Prasanna Vithanage’s ‘Paradise’ wins ‘Best Film Award’ at Busan Film Festival

Sri Lankan Director Prasanna Vithanage's film "Paradise" has created history by winning the Kim Jiseok Award for Best Film at the Busan International Film Festival 2023 in Korea.

This film, produced by Newton Cinema and presented by Mani Ratnam and Madras Talkies, had its world premiere at Busan.

It features an all-star cast and crew, including Roshan Mathew, Darshana Rajendran, Shyam Fernando, and Mahendra Perera.

Paradise narrates the vacation of a tourist couple, exploring their struggles with societal, personal, and internal challenges. Through their experiences, they unveil an objective truth about human nature.

The film follows Indian couple – streaming content producer Kesav (Roshan Mathew, Sundance 2023 series “Poacher”) and blogger Amritha (Darshana Rajendran, “Hridayam”) – who are on vacation in Sri Lanka during the country’s ongoing economic crisis.

They are the victims of a robbery and find themselves in the thick of the agitations.

The economic crisis in Sri Lanka began in 2019 and was exacerbated during the Rajapaksa family’s regime, leading to a state of near-total collapse and bankruptcy by mid-2022. The crisis had a knock-on effect on the film and TV industry as well. (Bandula)