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Devi Balika Media Day:

Children’s Cinema and its influence



Director General of Government Information Department
Prof Ariyarathna Athugala giving away a trophy

A scene from a drama.
Pictures by Saman Sri Wedage

Sri Lanka produces less children’s movies compared to the international arena. But it is gradually becoming a very popular topic among children and adults alike. This was indeed a timely topic chosen for Induwara Asna 2011 the Media Day of Devi Balika Vidyalaya, held at the school recently to commemorate the 10th anniversary of its Mass Communication Unit.

Organized as by the Mass Communication Unit, it focused mainly on, children’s cinema, a rare form of art in Sri Lanka. E M G Edirisinghe, veteran cinema critic headed the discussion panels on different topics related to communication and children’s cinema. The importance of communication and its impact on man was discussed at length.

“Children’s cinema is a kind of literature which could have a strong impact on a child’s mind and development. This is why it is really important to have high quality movies for children,” said Edirisinghe. He further explained that today, adults enjoy a different culture while children adapt to an emerging culture more sophisticated than the one their parents were exposed to. “Children’s movies are extremely interesting and talk to children’s minds,” noted Edirisinghe.

According to him, the moving image further developed into cinema quickly turned into a popular art form. The first movie emerged in the last decade of the 19th Century. The Signal was the first children’s movie which emerged in the second decade of the 20th century in Russia.

Then it spread around the world and in Sri Lanka it became a reality in 1979 with Handaya directed by Titus Totawatte. Handaya was a landmark in Sinhala cinema which perfectly distinguished the role of children’s’ movies. Somaratne Dissanayake’s contribution to upgrade the standard of Sri Lankan children’s cinema was highly appreciated during the discussions.

“There is a specific duty to be fulfilled by school mass communication units,” said Veteran journalist and Director General of Government Information Department Prof Ariyarathna Athugala, the chief guest of the event. “Electronic media are expanding everyday and have a huge impact on society.” He said that many problems occur due to this. As the root cause he identified the lack of media education at school level. “Media illiteracy badly affects children’s spiritual cultivation, aesthetic values and interests”, he noted.

According to Prof Athugala, children are attracted to social media and are engaged in them as active participants.

Mostly websites such as facebook and other internet based networks have a huge influence on children’s minds than knowledge imparted by education. A whole new different culture has emerged as a result. Consequently he reiterated the importance of identifying these problems and intelligent solutions.

Many other distinguish personalities, including Athula Ransirilal, Nalaka Swarnathilake and Charitha Navaratne, participated in the event. There were many entertaining dramatizations of Sinhala and English songs and a couple dance. At the end of the event awards were presented to students who won competitions organized by the Mass Communication Unit. Induwara Asna 2011 ended with a note of motivation to rethink the importance of children’s cinema and its impact on children’s growth.

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