Galle Film Festival 2008 commence with Gala Fundraiser :

Convergence of visuality at the enchanting port city

Indeewara Thilakarathne and Ranga Chandrarathne in Galle

The Galle Film Festival of 2008 commenced with its gala fundraiser event on the weekend of October 25 and 26 in the enchanting port city of Galle . The highlight of the event was the Asian premier of Paul Shrader's Adam Resurrected in the Halle de Galle in Galle Fort.

Paul Shrader who was in person for the premier, himself made an introduction to the film. Following the screening the gala fundraiser dinner was held at Ambangalla. The Film Festival offered a meet for citizens of Galle, Sri Lankans and expatriate Sri Lankans in the country attended. On the 26, Dr. Lester James Peries' 'Beddegama' (Village in the jungle), 1980, Prasanna Vithanage's 'Iramadiyama' and Vimukthi Jayasundara's 'Sulanga Enu Pinisa' (Forsaken Land) were screened at the Halle de Galle.

As objective of the film festival is to build up a film culture, film screening were free of charge and to make the Galle Film Festival truly an International film festival where diverse stake holders of the industry could meet along with film lovers enjoying the serenity of the enchanting port city against the backdrop of world heritage site Galle Fort.

Internationally renowned film maker Steven Spielberg once said Sri Lanka is like a studio because every ten miles is kind of different to other. One of the lofty goals of the Galle Film Festival is to make the city of Galle , a recognised film festival city in Asia and South East Asia.

"You don't have to be a film maker to come to watch interesting movies and meet the artist and to get a glimpse of heritage of Galle and also of Sri Lanka. It is also the tourism promotion event. On November 1, Ketan Mehta's latest film Rang Rasiya (Colour of Passion) will be screened at Halle de Galle. The world premier of it will be held in London on the 29th October and following the cast and the director will fly to Sri Lanka where stakeholders of local film industry has the opportunity of meeting the cast and director. Following the screening, there will be a fundraiser dinner at Light House hotel and fundraiser party to raise funds towards the up and coming festival in somewhere between March or April in 2009. The Galle Film Festival 2009 where the Golden Elephant Award for young and up coming film maker from Sri Lanka will be introduced to encourage film langue, film culture and the filmmaking techniques. Master classes for filmmaking conducted by world renowned filmmakers will also be held. Following the screening of Rang Rasiya, a film titled 'Food for Thought 'by UNDP on hunger will be screened. This will be followed by a film forum. With the film forum festival close," said Boodee Kirthisena, Festival Organiser. The film 'Adam Resurrected" by Paul Shrader is woven around Adam Stein (Jeff Goldblum), a patient at a psychiatric institute for Holocaust survivor in Israel in 1961. The film is based on a novel of the same name by Israel author Yoram Kaniuk. He confused doctor's mind lead by Nathan Gross.

Before the outbreak of the War, Adam was an entertainer-cabaret impresario, circus owner and magician and a music lover admired by both audience and Nazi. However, he was sent to a concentration camp and the story takes an ugly turn with Adam has to pose off as a 'dog' of Commandant Klein. He entertains Klein as 'dog' whiles his wife and daughters are sent off to die. Subsequently Adam is found in psychiatric Institute run by Israelis in a desert for Holocaust survivors. Once day Adam smells a dog and eventually finds a young boy reared as a 'dog'. At first they recognised as dogs but later Adam resurrects the boy as well as himself getting rid of agonising memory inflicted upon him by Commandant Klein (Willem Dafoe).

However, the predominant characteristic of Shrader's artistry is the ever-ingrained tendency to make errors. Once conceptualised, Shrader does not bother about the affect whether it is numbing or irritable. Perhaps, the most impressive scene in the film is Adam's throwing of the ashes of his murdered family into the sky. This is where Shrader's approach of detached and presentational manifested in no uncertain terms. Shrader is at best portraying the subtle demarcation between sanity and insanity through a kaleidoscope of sexual relationships. Adam Stain's affair with a nurse (Ayelet Zurer) is an important thread which depicts Adam's state of mind. However, the filmmaker failed to evoke the intended feelings and to evolve a character to maturity. This has virtually made 'Adam Resurrected' whirlwind of emotions and tones.

Here in this case, it is doubtful whether Adam Stain is really redeemed or whether he is logically in a position to redeem the child who is known as canine. It is also questionable whether one has to forgo one's soul in order to redeem. Sometimes, Shrader investigates it and envelops in exaggeratedly in literary symbolism. It is also inconvincible that patients can run a psychiatric Facility for themselves. "Adam Resurrected "would have earned its due place if the filmmaker was able to explore into the inner agony in Adam Stain when he posses off as ' dog' entertaining Commandant Klein while immensely suffering for his murdered wife and daughter.

The event is sponsored by Daily News.

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Rang Rasiya (Colour of Passion) at Halle de Galle

Rang Rasiya ( Colour of Passion) by Ketan Mehta will be screened at Halle de Galle on November 1, 2008 on the second day of the inaugural Galle Film Festival. The film is woven around an Indian artist who was arrested on charges of obscenity, immorality and offending religious sentiments as drew the painting of Indian mythological character naked. On the 2nd of November, The UNDP film on 'Hunger' directed by 'Jason Taylor' will be screened at the Hall de Galle followed by a panel discussion.

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Patavi

A ballet - opera in Sinhala

Ranga Chandrarathne

Patavi, a ballet-opera by Thanuja Priyanthi Banduala and script written by Daya Ramya Alwise will be held on November 1, 2008, at Nawaragahala at.700p.m. Music, costumes and choreography was also by Thanuja.

"The emperor doest not know the love
The great wall runs through china
As a meandering serpent
Burying the blood, toil and sigh
Of thousands of innocents"

These evocative lines sum up the crust of the story which makes the ballet opera Patavi. Patavi is woven around true Chinese story in the days when the Great Wall of China was built. The emperor was cruel and did not care about thousands of men who had been forced to work on the construction of the Great Wall of China. Thousands of men were died and buried under the wall.

"The Great Wall
Being built against life
Burying humanity
With forced labour"

The construction of the wall was a tragedy as thousands who did not comply with the royal degree, were summarily executed by soldiers. Patavi lives in a remote hamlet with her husband. They were just married and soldiers took her husband to work at the wall. Patavi's husband died whilst shouldering a huge boulder. His body was laid on the bank of the river where the wall was being constructed. Patavi without knowing her husband's tragic death put final touches to a jacket for her lover. Upon failure to send the jacket through a messenger, Patavi herself embarked on a long journey in search of her husband, braving harsh winter.

She reaches the wall only to be found her husband's body lay on the site while the workers at the site paying no respect for the dead. Patavi cursed emperor and Ministers, causing a stoppage of work. Since the Ministers find it difficult to deal with Patavi, the emperor comes to the construction site. The emperor ordered to put the Ministers in jail.

Enticed by the incomparable beauty of Patavi, the emperor wants to win Patavi's heart. Patavi suddenly changes her mind and promises to marry the emperor only if he accorded a decent funeral for her husband. The emperor who now wants, somehow, to win the heart of Patavi accords a decent funeral for her husband. The legend ends with Patavi taking her life by jumping into the roaring waves of the river and disappeared among the waves.

Music for Patavi is by Thanuja Priyanthi Banduala. It should be mentioned here that music scores composed for Patavi are impressive. Ranara Academy which presents Patavi was established with the objective of creating a society sensitively to aesthetic pursuits rather than one which is inflicted with violence. Patavi is also marked for its excellent costume design and lighting. For instance red has been predominantly used to make authentic Chinese ambiance.