If Sri Lanka movies had for many years been mistaken with Bollywood movies because of the huge reign of imported Indian movies and the many (unofficial) local remakes, the industry has finally built its own identity and shaped one of world’s most poetic cinematographies – as proved by two Golden Cyclos in 2012 and 2013 for August Drizzle by Aruna Jayawardanaand With Your Without You by Prasanna Vithanage.
Lester James Peries (97 years), the « Father of Sri Lanka Cinema », has not only contributed to the founding of local industry after popular success of his Rekava (Line of Destiny) in 1956, but he also proved there could be a more realistic and personal approach other than the ever-repeating musical formula movies made in Bollywood.
The success of his Gamperaliya (The Changing Village) in 1963 has paved the way for a whole new generation of young and talented directors such as Sumitra Peries, Siri Gunasinghe, Mahagama Sekera, Dharmasena Pathiraja, Dharmasiri Bandaranayakeor, more recently, Prasanna Vithanage, Vasantha Obeyesekera, Asoka Handagama, Prasanna Jayakody or Vimukthi Jayasundara. They all took huge inspiration from their country’s troubled history to sign some worldwide successes such as Walls Within (1997) or The Forsaken Land(2005).
Sri Lanka has a very rich cultural cinematographic heritage, maybe lesser-known as other countries, but not less in quality. In order to honor its mission to discover and re-discover forgotten or long-lost masterpieces, Vesoul International Film Festival of Asian Cinema is proud to introduce its audiences to Sri Lanka Cinema.
1956: Line of Destiny (Rekawa) by Lester James Peries – Unreleased
1967: The Seven Seas (Sath Samudura) by Siri Gunasinghe – European Premiere
1970: Three Way Junction (Thun Man Handiya) by Mahagama Sekera – European Premiere
1972: The Treasure (Nidhanaya Treasure) by Lester James Peiries – Unreleased
1974: One League Of Sky (Ahas Gauwa) by Dharmasena Pathiraja – European Premiere
1978: Younger Sister (Ponmani) by Dharmasena Pathiraja – Tamil – Unreleased
1980: Hansa Vilak by Dharmasiri Bandaranayake – French Premiere
1983: The Hunt (Dadayama) by Vasantha Obesekera – European Premiere
1988: Letters Written on the Sand (Sagara Jalaya Madi Haduva Oba Handa) by Sumitra Peries – Unreleased
1997: Wall Within (Pavuru Valalu) by Prasanna Vithanage – Unreleased
2000: This is my Moon by Ashoka Handagama
2005: The Forsaken Land by Vimukthi Jayasundara
2007: Introspection (Sankara) by Prasanna Jayakody – European Premiere
