Sarasaviya not just another awards ceremony

CINEMA: The Presidential Awards and the Oscars are history. The Filmfare and Golden Globe awards are yet to follow. Another much-awaited event in the local cinema calendar is the "Sarasaviya Awards Festival".

This glamorous event, packed with popular films and celebrities, will commence on April 5 at 6.00 p.m at the BMICH.

The first "Sarasaviya Film Awards" was held at Asoka Cimema, Grandpass, in 1964. This year's ceremony will commemorate with the 60th anniversary of the cinema industry.

The "31st Sarasaviya Awards Festival 2006-2007" is organised by the Sarasaviya newspaper of Associated Newspapers of Ceylon Ltd. People's Bank will be the main sponsor of the festival and President Mahinda Rajapaksa will be the chief guest.

Fifteen movies from the year 2005, including films like Guerrilla Marketing, Ira Madhiyama, Sudu Kalu Saha Alu, Sulanga, Sulanga Enu Pinisa, One Shot etc., and 20 films from 2006 which includes Naga Kanya, Eka Malaka Pethi, Anjalika, Hiri Poda Vessa, Nilambarae, Udu Gam Yamaya, Kurula Pihatu, Sewwandi, Ammawarunae etc., will compete separately according to the year that they were released.

Awards for the best up coming actor and actress, best supporting actor and actress, best singer and songstress, best script writer, best director, best cameraman etc. will be presented along with a number of other awards.

Six merit awards and special awards like Rana Tisara, which is presented to two artists who have been a pride to the industry, and the Ranapala Bodhinagoda Commemorative Award for the renowned script writer in the local scene, are included in the list.

The most popular film, the most popular actor and actress will be chosen from the votes of the public. The highlight of the night will no doubt be the presentation of the best film, best actor and best actress awards.

With preparations for the ceremony underway, the authorities have also taken measures to conduct Sarasaviya Film Festivals in other areas of the island.

This will give the public the chance to recapture the taste of some of the most popular movies of the year 2005 and 2006. Anjalika, Sulanga, Sewwandi, Nilambarae and Hiri Poda Vessa will be screened at the Imperial Theatre, Kurunegala, from March 14 to 18 at 6.00 p.m.

A Cinema workshop will also be conducted at the Town Hall in Kurunegala on March 14. This opportunity will provide the new generation with a thorough knowledge regarding the industry. Professor Praneeth Abeysundara and Athula Samarakoon will conduct the meeting.

Hiri Poda Vessa, Anjalika and Sewwandi will be screened at the Regal Cinema, Kandy, from March 23 to 25, at 6.00 p.m. A workshop will be conducted by Prasanna Vithanage and Gamini Weragama at the Cultural Centre, Kandy, on March 22 from 8.00 a.m. to 12 noon.

As a part of promoting the event at provincial level, all the films included in these two film festivals will be shown free of charge. The actors and actresses of the films will also be present.

Minister of Media and Information, Anura Priyadharasana Yapa who was at the official inauguration ceremony of the "31st Sarasaviya Awards Festival", said that the "Sarasaviya Awards Festival" is a hallmark of the local cinema industry.

He commented that it is a steppingstone to novices in the field, changing them to stars in the industry. He also asked the private sector to help in developing the cinema industry.

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From Satellite to Silver screen

Sri Lanka to witness Digital Cinema revolution :

CINEMA: Can you believe of the possibility of a first-day, first-show movie release to millions of audiences around the globe? Results: savings in expenses such as print cost, durability of media, curb on piracy, promoting of niche cinema and regional films, lower break even point, save foreign exchange importing film stock...

All this and many more benefits from the point of view of the - exhibitor, distributor, producer, audience and the nation - will be concerned when new technology in the form of Digital Cinema hit the theatres in Sri Lanka.

Digital cinema is a new concept of exhibiting and distributing movies with the combination of digital capture, digital delivery and digital projection. This process uses hard disks or satellite transmission instead of analogue media or prints to record, transmit and replay images. Therefore, the result is digital video projects with flexibility in terms of transmission and replaying images.

This highly efficient method will be introduced to the Sri Lankan theatre scene by the National Film Corporation in association with GFM Holdings (Pvt) Ltd. UFO Moviez Digital Cinema network promoted by professionals from the media and technology industries of Apollo International Ltd., which is part of the $ 1 billion Apollo Group, plays the key role in bringing the new technique to the island.

UFO is the only company in the world to deliver MPEG-4 high definition images for digital cinema via satellite on real time basis. So far since its establishment, over 550 cinemas in India have been installed with UFO digital cinema systems in less than 12 months.

This makes way for viewers to get the chance to watch the latest releases and thus increase the box office by more than 100%.

"We have always aimed at enhancing the cinema industry without increasing the price range. This new method will help us to achieve that state.

We will be able to give our audience a good and uniform viewing experience while encouraging the local producers to make meaningful movies.

I believe that digital cinema will become a landmark in the upheaval of our cinema industry," stated Asoka Serasinghe, chairman/CEO of The National Film Corporation of Sri Lanka.

He also asked the authorities in charge to take measures to introduce facilities related to the new technique in filmmaking. Digital cinema had already taken over the Indian film industry and film producers were able to reap the profits to cover up costs within days of release.

UFO had released a number of widely known Hindi movies such as Krrish, Don, Janemaan, Guru, Sarkar, Dhoom:2, Baabul etc in this manner. Indian film producers like Yash Chopra, Vidu Vinod Chopra, Rakesh Roshan, Ravi Chopra, Sajid Nadiadwala and Ritesh Sidhwani have all shown their appreciation towards this new technique.

Digital cinema has proved to be a boon to the entertainment industry in India.

Will it be so in Sri Lanka?

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Kesariya Rang de - Colourful Holi celebrations

HINDU CULTURE: Kesariya Rang de, or "Colour It Saffron", the colour-filled celebrations to mark Holi, the festival of colours, was hosted by the Indian Cultural Centre on Monday, March, 5.

This festival of joy was appropriately celebrated by a performance of a dance epitomising exuberance and joy, the Bhangra. A 10-member Bhangra troupe from Punjab, India, headed by Ms. Sukhbir Kaur, gave a full display of the verve and vitality of this Punjabi folk dance at the Centre.

Bhangra originated as a harvest dance among Punjabi wheat farmers. The term now refers to several diverse dances including Jhumar, Gidda, Luddi, Daankara and Dhamal. Bhangra lyrics sing of a variety of subjects, from love to arguments with a sister-in-law to political affairs.

Jhumar is a graceful dance, set to a specific Jhumar rhythm. Dancers circle around a drum player while singing a soft chorus. A person performing the Luddi dance places one hand behind his head and the other in front of his face, while swaying his head and arms.

He typically wears a plain loose shirt and sways in a snake-like manner. Like a Jhumar dancer, the Luddi dancer moves around a dhol player.

Women have a different but equally exuberant dance called Gidda. The dancers enact verses called bolis, representing a wide variety of principally domestic subjects. Julli is a dance associated with Muslim holy men called pirs and is generally performed in their hermitages. Daankara is a dance of celebration, typically performed at weddings.

Two men, each holding colourful staves, dance around each other in a circle while tapping their sticks together in rhythm with the drums. Dancers also form a circle while performing Dhamal.

They also hold their arms high, shake their shoulders and heads, and yell and scream.

Dhamal is a true folk-dance, representing the heart of Bhangra.

In addition to these different dances, a Bhangra performance typically contains many energetic stunts. The most popular stunt is called the mor or peacock, in which a dancer sits on someone's shoulder, while another person hangs from his torso by his legs. Two-person towers, pyramids, and various spinning stunts are also popular.

The most important instruments that accompany Bhangra are the dhol, a large bass drum, played by beating with two sticks, and the single-string tumbi, and chimta, a version of the tambourine. Bhangra music and dance today enjoys a worldwide success.

Bhangra rap, bhangra pop and bhangra reggae have been produced in the UK, have enjoyed mainstream musical success there and have been re-exported to India. Bhangra epitomises youth culture in the UK and Canada as much as it does in the Indian subcontinent.