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| Wednesday, 15 December 2004 |
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Focus on books Some notes on developing a cine culture by Prof. Sunanda Mahendra On November 29, a wide array of cine enthusiasts and persons drawn from the cine world, the cine industry and well wishing three cabinet ministers gathered at the Cinema hall of the BMICH. There were two main items scheduled. Firstly the launching of the Sinhala periodical Chitrapata, after a lapse of twenty-eight years and secondly the launching of the website of the Film Corporation, the exchange programme at home and abroad. The Sinhala journal catering for the needs of the cine enthusiasts should be reckoned as a periodical that will help build a better climate of awareness on various aspects of cinema inclusive of persons, views, reviews, profiles, dialogues, comments and all information pertaining to the subject at an elevated level of aesthetic sense The journal edited by Anoma Rajakaruna, carries the central message that a good climate for the local cine culture depends on the creation of awareness on various aspects of the very creative communication patterns and the sound understanding of the present state of the industry as well. Articles As such she points out that this launching coincides with the proposal to build a cinema academy in the country. The local cinema industry has come a long way that it deserves a special place in the cinema industry. Quite a number of thought-provoking articles are selected for this edition and I feel that the ability to select good learned comments on the subject is most wanted. The column commenced by Tissa Abeysekara titled "Ru Handa" meaning sight and sound, is one such example where the aspects such as visual literacy is underlined as a starting point in the understanding of the basic foundation in visual arts that may culminate in the creation of a cinematic work. I would suggest that the editor with her board of advisors consider introducing more and more salient aspects such as film aesthetics, film criticism and aspects of sociology of cinema as feeding material culled from various sources and be presented to the scholarly reader, for it should not be another periodical published for the sake of publishing from the state sector. The cinema industry in our country covers at least a period of fifty years or more. But it is unfortunate that the level of cine works that are churned out are not of a calibre that could be compared with the identity of several other countries. But I should not generalize this attitude, since there are occasions when some of our works have received high acclaim from festivals abroad. The crux of the matter is that though there is a money-earning urge is prevalent, the need to make really good works is lacking due to more than one reason. As far as I can see the industry has not been groomed properly to bear fruits from those who matter as cinematographers. In this direction though we are gifted with a properly found Film Corporation, perhaps as a result of a long studied report submitted via a film commission in the early sixties, the activities were not gauged scientifically, especially the training component, on the part of the administration concerned from time to time. Script bank A script bank was formed in order to help create better films. That is one of the finest factors one can visualize for a better creative form. While that miserably failed as most producers who dump money disliked the seriousness as against their whims and fancies. But today one of the heartening projects is the elevation of the same concept in the selection of better scripts in order to fund them through the Film Corporation development project. Several cinematographers were lucky enough to obtain this rare chance and some of them did prove their prowess as cine makers of some value. This experimental project ought to be considered more seriously than it is performed today. From the very inception, if I remember correct the mass media especially the print medium has been active in building a better cine culture. When the early Sinhala films were shown to the local audience the journalists with their severe limitations proved that the prevailing conditions of production may not help and instead stressed the need for a better cine industry. Those who were engaged in the production of films during the late fifties and early sixties were sometimes severely, if not carpingly criticized by the press for the good for nothing films that were shown in the name of visual entertainment. As a result of the need for the good material that should go into the making of a film resulted in the need for the emergence of the writing for the screen, which eventually needed some sort of training as against the extant pattern of adapting the stage material to the screen. The need to understand the visual communication became a wider subject via periodicals and books written by few individuals. In one of the well-known Sinhala magazines edited by the novelist W. A. de Silva, titled Tilaka, there appeared one article stressing the need to understand cinema as a medium as far back as early sixties. This I feel was a period long before his own novels came to be adapted as screen plays. Going down the memory lane I feel that the Sinhala journalist and playwright D. V. Seneviratne was the first author who brought out a book on the subject of cinema. He titled his work as Chitrapata Kalava. This was a collection of articles he had written to various Sinhala journals with special reference to Rasavahini, the then monthly Sinhala journal of the Times group of newspapers headed by the veteran journalist D. B. Dhanapala. As a stage playwright and a novelist, Seneviratne had the knack for the film writing. As such he adapted one of his novels "Ma Alaya Kala Taruniya " as a screenplay, which became one of the lesser known but a sensitive human story. Some of the stories borrowed from the South Indian screen became fodder to feed the Sinhala film industry. Most Sinhala and English critics of the day, denounced this factor. As a result quite a number of popular Sinhala novels became screen material. Acid remarks The interest taken on the part of some of the Sinhala and English journalists is commendable as far as the development of the Sinhala film is concerned. Karunasena Jayalath and Jayavilal with their acid remarks wanted to see that a good cine industry is ushered in. It is in this context that their reviews had to be observed. Jayalath and Jayavilal were pioneer film critics, who ushered in an new era as popular film page setters that caught the eye of the younger generation of the day. Benedict Dodampegama of Silumina and Reggie Ranasinghe of Sanskriti had a better eye drawn towards most aspects of cinema. Dodampegama's book titled Chitrapata Asvadaya, was one of the pioneer efforts to evaluate the value of the visual medium, and the work helped the bilingual reader to know more about the medium through his reference to such critics of cinema as Roger Manvell and Penelope Houstan. Then came the period when quite a number of periodicals on the subject entered the cinema scene. Apart from the well-known Indian publications like Filmfare and Screen, magazines like Sight and Sound came to be known by the student of cinematographer. The need to see good foreign films was a pressing need on the part of the local film enthusiast. A few cinema clubs sprung up with the intention of seeing and discussing the subject. One good example is the sixteen mm cinema club formulated in Colombo with pioneers like Neil I. Perera and Cyril B Perera. Quite a number of film festivals were arranged and the due credit should go to Neil I. for the energetic and indefatigable mission. Today we come across weekly and fortnightly cine papers published from media organizations. At this juncture I cannot overlook some of the yeoman services rendered by the cine writers of some value. In the long list of cine journalists as they are called, the first name that comes to my mind is Arthur U. Amarasena, who was a long-standing editor of several Sinhala film papers like Visitura from the Davasa group, which is now defunct and Suratura from Times Group. Sittara and Piyakaru from other newspaper groups. Amarasena is seen continuing the writing process and to his credit has written a short history of Sinhala film as well. He is a regular contributor to the press on cinema. Aspects of cinema Today the need to print more good books on the subject is essential. As new faces emerge new publications should also follow in order to create broader perspectives on the subject. Several educationists have pointed out that it is fruitful to include studies in aspects of cinema into the school level curriculum. Now this is done at the university level especially in the teaching of predominantly mass communication and sociology. The undergraduates and postgraduates pertaining to the subject areas undertook quite a number of research projects. These aspects have to be broadened eventually with a cross-cultural learning and teaching. Veterans in the cine field could be invited to obtain their experiences and inspiration from various directions. With the advent of new technology and the challenges from the popular television media channels, the need to educate the masses with an understanding of cross-cultural issues is significant. In the rural landscape the impact of the visual power on culture should also be taken seriously. As stated by Roy Armes in his work "Film and Reality" [a historical survey] it is easy to see why the cinema concerns itself with being realistic. The camera is a unique instrument for capturing the surface details of life. It can show faces, streets, landscapes, human groups and activities as well as tiny quirks of behaviour, all with great power. Life itself is so engrossing on this level that the material can never be exhausted. Film makers will continue to be born who want to show life as it is, just as there will no doubt always be painters who are totally absorbed in painting the human face or the rural landscape. **** Back **** |
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