International Film Festival of Colombo 2015:

A cinematic indulgence

With just under one week to go, the countdown has begun for the International Film Festival of Colombo (IFFCOLOMBO) 2015; arguably the most looked forward to cinematic splurge in Sri Lanka. Hosted by the Director’s Guild of Sri Lanka for the second consecutive year, the fully-fledged Film Festival, scheduled to be held from November 7 to November 11, will see over 100 films, including the works of local artistes as well as internationally acclaimed, award winning film makers from different corners of the world, screened at various cinemas around Colombo.

IFFCOLOMBO 15 will open with the Cannes Golden Palm winning film ‘Dheepan’ by renowned French director Jacques Audiard. Featuring Antonythasan Jesuthasan, a novelist and former Tamil Tiger child soldier in the lead role, Dheepan tells the story of three Tamil refugees who flee civil war-ravaged Sri Lanka and come to France, hoping to reconstruct their lives. Dheepan will be screened at the Regal Cinema on November 6, 2015 from 6.30 p.m. onwards.

Sponsored by the National Film Corporation of Sri Lanka, Ceylon Theatres and the Okinawa International Movie Festival of Japan, the Festival will also see a variety of fringe events and parallel sessions organized by the Film Directors’ Guild. These include an educational exhibition themed ‘The Sri Lankan Film Industry – Then and Now’ at the National Film Corporation premises for the duration of the Festival. The exhibition will provide a look into the evolution of Sinhala Cinema from its infant years to the digital era. Internationally acclaimed documentary films and a British documentary film on Sri Lanka are scheduled to be screened at the event.

There will also be a special lecture on acting delivered by veteran film and theater actor, Saumya Liyanage, and a special screening of a documentary on renowned Art Director, Dharmasena Hemapala.

New to IFFCOLOMBO 2015 are the ‘Asian Competition’ and ‘Mosaic of Sri Lankan New Cinema’, shortlisted movies for which were revealed recently. Festival director, well known film maker Asoka Handagama describing the two new segments as ‘a promise being fulfilled’ said the Asian Competition and Mosaic of Sri Lankan New Cinema was introduced with the intention of making the IFFCOLOMBO a competitive film festival. He also said the two events would be regular features of the Festival from this year onwards.

“Out of hundreds of Asian films we received for IFFCOLOMBO 2015, our jury has shortlisted 10 highly acclaimed movies from the Asian region and these 10 movies will compete for the most prestigious award of the Festival,” he said at a recent press briefing, adding that seven new films produced by Sri Lankan filmmakers being showcased under the ‘Mosaic of Sri Lankan New Cinema’ section will also be competing under the ‘Asian Competition’ category.

Festival Jury

The Festival Jury and the films selected for the Asian Competition category were announced at a press briefing early this week. The Jury includes: Klaus Eder (Germany) – Chairperson, editor of the monthly film magazine ‘Film’, co-author of ‘A History of Bulgarian Cinema’ and curator of a series of 30 films on the 50s of Germany, titled ‘After the War, Before the Wall’ and of a series of films by the German director Helmut Käutner, accompanied by a book published by the Goethe Institute in 2007; Jeffrey Jeturian (Philippines), a renowned director, with three of his films being included among the twenty important Filipino films produced during the past twenty years by Manunuring Pelikulang Pilipino, the most prestigious organization of film critics in Philippines; Na Renhua (China), largely known as a brilliant actress who has dedicated her cinematic artistry of acting and film making to the cause of creating intense movies reflecting the state of China;

Max Tessier (France), a film critic for various newspapers and magazines and foreign publications such as CINEMAYA (New Delhi), Les Voix (Kyoto/Paris) and now for Positiff and OVNI, specialising in Japanese and Asian cinemas;

Fatemeh (Simin) Motamedarya (Iran) one of the most celebrated and multi-award winning actress in the history of Iranian cinema.

Reported by Anuradha Kodagoda with input from Husna Inayathullah

Mosaic of Sri Lankan New Cinema

Madhura Charika (Joyful Journeys) - Directed by Udayakantha Warnasuriya, the film is about an 85-year-old star who acted in films during the early 1950s, who now spends his days re-living the joyous memories of his acting career. ‘Madhura Charika’ is about the many obstacles he faces when journeying to Colombo to attend a film festival and the interactions with people of many different societal levels who help them.

Motor Bicycle - Directed by Shameera Rangana, the movie is about a young aspiring musician who buys his dream motor bicycle by pawning his mother’s necklace and takes his girlfriend on a joyride. His day ends with the bike being stolen and the girlfriend breaking up with him.

Nimnayaka Hudakalawa (Alone in a valley) - Directed by Boodee Keerthisena, the movie tells the story of Vishva, Maya and Tharaka stuck in a moment where time has stopped, leading them into mystery, encountering the unknown and life beyond the edge.

Premaya Nam - Directed by Lalpana and Vindana Ariyawansha, it is a story about a man with a severe case of OCD, who fears his own urine, admits himself to a mental hospital for treatment to overcome his fear and win his wife back.

Raya Thawama Tharunai (La nuit est encore jeune) - Produced as a Sri Lankan, French collaboration, by Indika Udugampola, the film is about an exiled woman who dreams of becoming a classical singer, a lesbian butcher with a mysterious curse and a garbage collector who naively stumbles into treacherous territory.

The Letter - Directed by Isuru Weerasinghe, the film is about an unexplainable connection between a soldier and a village girl that break barriers of cultural conflict in the midst of a brutal civil war, resulting in unforeseen consequences for everyone involved

10 competing Asian films

Of the hundreds of recently produced films submitted for the Asian Competition section of IFFCOLOMBO 2015, the following 10 Asian films have shortlisted for the competition.

The Honour Keeper (Lajwanti) - Produced and directed by Pushpender Singh from India
Under Heaven - Directed by Dalmira Tilepbergenova from Kygyzstan
Risk of Acid Rain - Directed by Behtash Sanaeeha from Iran
Split Gravy on Rice - Directed by Zahim Albakri from Malaysia, it will make the world premiere at IFFCOLOMBO 2015.

The Road - Directed by Rana Salem from Lebanon
A Day in the Life of Anil Bagchi - Directed by Morshedul Islam from Bangladesh, it makes its world Premiere at IFFCOLOMBO 2015.

Tent (Kurko) - Directed by Kenzhebek Shaikakov from Kazakhstan
River Road - Directed by Li Ruijun from China
Balut Country - Directed by Paul Sta Ana from the Philippines, the film will make its world premiere at IFFCOLOMBO 2015.
River (Gtsngbo) - Directed by Sonthar Gayal from Tibet,

 Full screening schedule