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| Sunday, 26 March 2006 |
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Features |  |
| News Business Features Editorial
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Lester James Peries' 'Life and Work': A fitting tribute to a legend Lester James Peries' 'Life and Work', LJP by late Prof. A. J. Gunawardena is the comprehensive and authoritative biography of Dr.Lester James Peries, the foremost filmmaker of the country, who undoubtedly belonged to a pioneering group of filmmakers such as Akira Kurasawa and Sathyajith Ray. by Ranga Chandraratne
Masterpiece It is a masterpiece considered as the first artistic Sinhala film-bringing cinema out of studios. The book is authored by late Prof. A. J. Gunawardena who worked with the maestro in script writing for three ground breaking works of Beddegama (The village in the jungle), Kaliyugaya (The age of Kali) and Yuganthaya (End of an era). Prof. Gunawardene began his research into his celebrated subject in the early part of the 1990's and he intended to add his insights, analysis and assessment of the work and times of the filmmaker. However, he passed away in 1998 leaving behind the unfinished manuscript bearing his unique style of writing and the Asian Film Centre under takes the task of publishing it. An insightful introduction by Prof. Wimal Dissanayaka, an internationally acknowledged authority on arts, film and culture aptly compensates the loss of AJ's analytical voice. The biography takes readers through a journey of 56 years of an illustrious career of maestro, Lester James Peries, encompassing his childhood, post war years LJP spent in London as a journalist and experimental filmmaker and LJP's illustrious career as a filmmaker of international repute from his very first film to his latest work 'Ammawarune'. Father of Sri Lankan cinema Peries, considered the father of Sri Lanka's doyen of cinema, was born in 1919 in the then British colony of Ceylon, and began his film career in Britain while working as a journalist. He returned after independence in 1952 to help the growth of the Sri Lankan film industry. His first big success came in 1963 with the film Changes in the Village (Gamperaliya) and since then he has made about 20 feature films. 1956 - Rekawa (The Line Of Destiny), 1963 - Gamperaliya (Changes In The Village), 1970 - Nidhanaya (The Treasure), 1975 - The God King, 1976 - Madol Duwa (Enchanted Island), 1978 - Ahasin Polawatha, (White Flowers For The Dead), 1979 - Veera Puran Appu (Rebellion), 1980 - Baddegama (Village In The Jungle), 1982 - Kaliyugaya (The Time Of Kali), 1983 - Yuganthayo (End Of An Era) and 1985 - Awaragira (The Sunset) are among his prominent works. |
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| Produced by Lake House |
His life and work reflects not only a master filmmaker but also the
evolution of Sinhala cinema from inside studios modeling triangular love
stories to his trailblasing masterpiece 'Rekhawa' with distinct Sri Lankan
spirit and character. 
