Vaishnavee :

Digital era in Sinhala cinema: Fusing technology with aesthetics in cinema

By Ranga CHANDRARATHNE

Vaishnavee will not only mark the dawn of digital era in Sri Lankan cinema but also an important phase of Sri Lankan film industry. Digitalising the production, distribution and projection of films would drastically reduce the cost of production and distribution in addition to improving the quality of the photography. The film will be an amalgam of talents in almost all the aspects of filmmaking in Sri Lanka. Vaishnavee would not only be a turning point in the Sumitra Peries’s trailblazing career in cinema but also a watershed in chequered film industry.

Sumitra Peries addresses the gathering

Vaishnavee, the latest cinematic venture by Sumitra Peries which is produced by Asia Digital Entertainment will offer an extraordinary cinematic experience buttressed by the latest digital technology in the field of cinema with the first-ever-use of RED EPIC digital movie camera for the shooting.

The film is based on screenplay written by Dr.Lester James Peries, doyen of Sri Lankan cinema who revolutionised the Sri Lankan film industry with his first-ever-outdoor shot film Rekava in 1956. The significance of this venture lies in the fact that Sumithra Peries, without doubt the most matured and trained woman filmmaker in Sri Lanka, stepping out of her traditional domain and entering into the genre of fantasy in cinema. The application of magic realism and special effects in modern cinema would make Vaishnavee an enthralling cinematic experience.

A pioneering woman filmmaker

Sumitra Peries is the pathbreaking Sri Lankan woman filmmaker who paved the way for the entry of women breaking the monopoly of the male dominated Sinhalese cinema.

Looking at her remarkable career in cinema which bequeathed the nation a corpus of creations including Gehenu Lamai (1977), Ganga Addara ( 1980), Yahalu Yeheli (1982), Maya (1984), Sagara Jalaya ( 1988) , Loku Duwa ( 1996), Duwata Mawak Misa ( 1997- based on novel by G.B Senanayake) and Sakman Maluwa ( 2003- based on a short story by Godfery Gunatilake), Sumitra Peries stands out as a Sri Lankan filmmaker who realistically depicted the Sri Lankan woman from diverse aspects.

The character of woman portrayed in her films is not a prototype or stereotype woman often valarised by cultural puritans but the one who plays a dynamic and significant role in life as a mother. For instance, in her film Duwata Mawak Misa, Sumitra portrays the close relationship between a mother and a daughter not only in Sri Lanka but also in any Asian society.

What is noteworthy is that her approach to dealing with feminist issues is neither sympathetic nor clinical but a realistic one.

Goddess Vaishnavee

Her maturity in the craft was amply demonstrated in Yahaluwo (Best friends) in 2007. The film was made at the tail end of the conflict and masterly depicts the dynamics of ethnic relationships among diverse ethnicities in Sri Lanka through the eyes of a child of mix parentage. Yahaluwo is so far the most sensible cinematic exploration of diverse ethnic relations in Sri Lankan polity as the sub-text of the film. At the same time, it is also a children's film.

One factor which makes Sumitra Peries is her deep understanding, vast knowledge and experience in the field of cinema. It was in the 1950s that she studied film making at the London School of Film Technique and earned a Diploma in Film Direction and Production (1957-1959). Significantly, she was the only woman student at the time and began working at Mai Harris, a subtitling firm for a short spell.

Sumitra's brother Gamini contacted Lester and checked the possibility of her sister to work with him.

Lester agreed and Sumitra started the work as assistant director in his second film Sandesaya. A filmmaking company called Cinelanka was established in 1963 with Anton Wickramasinghe also Lester and Sumitra as major shareholders.

Apart from serving the nation in diverse capacities such as being a member of the Presidential Commission for two years to conduct an inquiry into Sri Lanka's film sector, a member of the Board of Management of the Institute of Aesthetique Studies, Kelaniya University, Sri Lanka, Sumitra Peries was the Sri Lanka's Ambassador to France.

Vaishnavee

Sumitra’s latest cinematic venture Vaishnavee deals with a story of a puppet -maker, Osanda. Though he is a highly talented craftsman, proposal of a girl for him was rejected and the puppet maker carves an ideal woman in his heart out of Kaduru wood. One day, he suddenly discovers that the puppet he made in the form of beautiful maiden is possessed by the goddess of Vaishnavee. The plot takes a different course then on, not confining to the set formula of beginning, middle and the end.

The story revolves around how the puppet possessed by the goddess profoundly affects the lives of the puppet maker and his extended family. One of the significant aspects of the plot is the mystic elements and supernatural occurrences such as trees growing in the house, huge curlings of wood coming into the house and the exploration of folklore, myths and beliefs such as one associated with Kaduru tree the wood of which is used for carving puppets.

Magic elements

A significant aspect of postcolonial literature is the exploration of myths, folklore and beliefs with the intention of reclaiming the tradition. One of the beliefs associated with Kaduru tree is that spirits make it their abodes. The viewers encountering of magic elements such as light-readers, exorcist like figures would lend the movie an authentic fever and it seems that the filmmaker seeks to explore such myths through the simple narrative of Osanda, the puppet maker.

Sumitra Peries

The world’s most technologically advanced digital camera, the Red Epic

It is a fact that Southern province in general and Ambalangoda in particular famous for puppetry and puppet shows, wood carvings and colourful masks. The use of RED EPIC digital movie camera and the special effects will enable the filmmaker to vividly realise the magic realistic elements in the plot with extremely high quality photography. The experienced hands in the craft such as Director of Photography cinematographer Donald Karnaratne and life-long experience of Sumitra Peries and Dr. Lester James Peries would make Vaishnavee an object lesson in Sri Lankan cinema. The cast of the film include Yashoda Wimaladharma, Thumindu Dodantenna and new comer Shehara Hawadewa. The film is produced by Manohan Nanayakkara for the Asia Digital Entertainment.

Red Epic digital movie camera

The RED EPIC camera is a highly advanced digital camera manufactured in the USA. The founder of the RED line of cameras Jim Jinnard created it with the focus of introducing the most advanced digital camera in the world. The RED EPIC comprises a list of endless features, enabling the camera to capture up to 120 frames per second, each frame at full 14MP resolution with 5k capturing. The RED EPIC had been used in a number of leading movies in Hollywood, including Pirates of the Caribbean, Angels and Demons, The Hobbit, You Don't Get to 500 Million Friends Without Making a Few Enemies and The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo.

Asia Digital Entertainment which produces Vaishnavee is a wholly owned subsidiary of Asia Capital Group. Asia Digital has a Motion Picture arm, which is focusing on producing between 15 and 20 movies a year in order to activate and improve the local cinema industry. The company is also working towards converting all cinemas in the country into digital format. It also rents out its Red Cameras at low cost to filmmakers to encourage the use of digital technology within the industry. The Post Production unit of the company is equipped with cutting edge editing suites.