Decoding documentaries

Ruwini JAYAWARDANA

They may not bring in as much audience as their counterparts - feature films and short films, but well constructed documentaries embody their own charm. Brimming with real-life facts and unveiling a house of knowledge before its viewers, documentaries are gradually becoming a household name.

Due to their ascending popularity, documentaries have even found a place in film festivals and competitions.

Chandani Und Ihr Elefant (Chandani - the Daughter of the Elephant Whisperer), a documentary filmed in Sri Lanka by German director and producer Arne Birkenstock, was recently screened in Sri Lanka as part of the EU Film Festival at the National Film Corporation.

Shot more than a couple of years ago and screened in 2010, Chandani traces a 16 year-old girl’s relationship with an injured young elephant that has just been delivered to the elephant orphanage at Pinnawala National Park. It won the German Film LOLA Award in the category of Best Children’s Film recently.

Birkenstock who visited the island for the screening of his documentary shared his thoughts with Daily News ‘Projector’. Excerpts:

Q: What inspired you to make Chandani?

A: Producer Thomas Springer and I came up with the idea when a baby elephant was born at the Cologne zoo. The crowds were enormous and when we saw how elephants, especially baby ones, attract people of all ages we realized that this was a story with huge potential.

We approached Dr Schwammer at the Vienna zoo. He is active in many elephant projects in Sri Lanka and put us onto Sunamabanda who had no sons but only four daughters to pass on his profession. This was an unusual situation. I joined Schwammer on his next trip and witness the situation for myself. Sunamabanda was, understandably, cautious at first but I was able to win him over. Chandani and her family were very open minded, eager to help out and share their daily life with us.

Q: Would you call Chandani a semi-fictional documentary?

A: It is more of a documentary though it embodies certain elements of dermatology. I would rather phrase it as a narrative documentary. Springer and I took more of a narrative line from the research, but it’s only a direction. There are no one-to-one scenes to act out. There are no actors or rehearsed dialogues. The characters are real-life and engage in their natural behaviour patterns. Since this is done for children we did not include normal observant features. We had to focus on a storyline to make it appealing for the younger audience.

Q: Your work appeals to children. What ingredients does it embody to make it a successful children’s documentary?

A: If I knew the recipe to do successful children’s creations I would be a very rich man now. (Smiles) A work has to be sincere and there has to be a plot. There should be a comic element and aspects that warm your heart. There isn’t much of a difference between making a documentary for adults and making one for children. I believe it lies in the manner I tell the tale. It works for them.

Q: A mahout is usually a male profession. Does your documentary set Chandani as a female role model in a male zone?

A: It motivates both boys and girls to stick to their dreams. They need to set a goal and dedicate themselves to the task of meeting their target. Then only you can achieve unusual things.

Though things turned out well in the film, the tension is real because Chandani herself has yet to pass the test and see the orphaned elephant accepted by the herd. The truth is that many do not survive due to being rejected. So the ending was unpredictable till we actually faced the situation.

The documentary is also about whether a daughter will follow in her father’s footsteps.

If she can succeed in bringing the elephant back on its feet, mentally as well as physically, then her father, the chief mahout in the orphanage and known as the Elephant Whisperer throughout the country, will train her to be the first female mahout in Sri Lanka.

If she fails and the animal dies, then her dream will be buried along with it and her family’s long tradition of being mahouts will also come to an end.

Q: What were the challenges you faced while filming Chandani?

A: The most challenges we had occurred before filming. We did research when the ceasefire agreement was in progress between the LTTE and the government. When filming was about to begin, the conflict was in full progress. We had to postpone the shooting several times.

Q: You have done several documentaries before. How did Chandani differ from those?

A: They were on very different subjects because my specialty was more into music then.

My first cinema documentary, 12 Tangos - Adios Buenos Aires ran for over 62 weeks in many theaters, with just seven copies and resulted in 40,000 admissions. It was about the economic crisis in Argentina and how it influenced the Tango music and lyrics.

Q: If you get an opportunity would you shoot in Sri Lanka again?

A: Certainly. Everyone was very supportive. The Film Team helped us in the shooting process. They are very reliable and professional. I came to Sri Lanka seven or eight times for research. The locations are beautiful.

This is actually my first visit to the island after the film is completed and I am very excited to get the feedback from the Sri Lankan audience.

Q: What are you working on at the moment?

A: I just finished a production which will be coming to theatres in March 2012.

It’s about German popular music and its impact on the German society. I have a passion for music and I play the accordion from childhood. I am also a member of a band in Germany.

Sinha in Sri Lanka

Bollywood’s new ‘It’ girl Sonakshi Sinha will be in Sri Lanka for a photo shoot for L’OFFICIEL India magazine cover.

Sinha has won many awards this year including ‘Best Actress in her debut’ at the Film Fare awards, the IIFA award and many more for he role in the film Dabangg co-starring Salman Khan. She is presently filming three movies: Rowdy Rathore, Joker and Race 2. Sinha is the daughter of actor and politician Shatrughan Sinha and Punam Sinha.

L’OFFICIEL India editor Ami Patel will also be in Sri Lanka along with fashion photographer Rihan Shresta. L’OFFICIEL is credited with many successful campaigns and editorial layouts including Karishma Kapoor for Garnier and Priyanka Chopra for Nikon. Sri Lankan born designer Dinesh Chandrasena is working on the project with the group. Event Concept will handle all operations and production in Sri Lanka.

Thotawatte no more

Veteran film director, scriptwriter, editor and TV personality Titus Thotawatte passed away on Saturday night at a private hospital in Colombo after a prolonged illness. The youngest of three children. Thotawatte was an old boy Ananda College, Colombo. Later he went to Matara Technical College.

In 1956 Thotawatte worked with Dr Lester James Peries in the first Sri Lankan film Rekava. Later he made his mark as a director in Chandiya, which starred Gamini Fonseka as the villain. More films like Kauda Hari (1969), Thewatha (1970) and Haralaksaya (1971) followed. 1980 was a turning point in his career for he wrote and directed the popular children’s movie Handaya. It won him the Best Picture award at the Sarasaviya Film Festival.

He further proved his mettle in the children’s entertainment zone by dubbing cartoons like Bugs Bunny, Top Cat and Doctor Doolittle in Sinhala. He also dubbed the well loved Japanese drama series Oshin and subtitled Robin of Sherwood which is probably one of the most rerun programmes on Rupavahini. Apart from these he also created puppet characters like Eluson.

When the National Media Awards took place for the first time, Thotawatte was presented a gold medal for his contribution to the TV media in the country.

He was 82 years at the time of death.

Selvam bags international awards in Malaysia

Sanjaya Leelarathne’s maiden movie Selvam won two awards at the Kuala Lumpur Film Festival in Malaysia recently. It got the awards for the best Asian Film for the year 2011 and the award for the Best Upcoming Director at the event. Selvam revolves around a story of a selfless hero in uniform who continues hi battle of breaking the racial barriers once he won the war. The title of the movie means prosperity in Tamil. According to Leelarathne, what Sri Lanka now wants is prosperity having undergone three decades of terrorism. The film has been based on the atrocities endured by the Sri Lankans due to tiger terrorism. A specialty in the film is using true scenes of people affected by the terrorist war. Mohammed Mujaideen has produced this film while Rohana Weerasinghe is the music director. Selvam is set to release at CEL circuit cinemas in the future.

It’s Showtime!

Asia Digital Entertainment (Private) Limited held a soft-launch for Sri Lanka’s premier entertainment magazine, Showtime.

Showtime, a bimonthly magazine targeted at entertainment enthusiasts between the ages of 18 and 60, focuses on the local and international movie and music scenes as well as the local television industry. Part of the Asia Capital Group, Asia Digital Entertainment has produced local and international films and hopes to appreciate and uplift Sri Lanka’s entertainment industry by introducing Showtime.

Elaborating on the movies that the company has produced, Asia Capital Group Chairman Manohan Nanayakkara, said, “We are making English movies, which are technologically sophisticated films with international crews and casts. We also work with many young filmmakers on the domestic films we are producing, and are trying to open up new avenues to them with regard to cinema.”

Nanayakkara joined the press conference via Skype. The informative and thought-provoking interviews and reviews that Showtime features take an unbiased, analytical viewpoint of current as well as past film and music productions. It will also discuss future possibilities as far as the entertainment industry is concerned. “We hope to reestablish the professionalism that was present in the industry during the 1960s and 1970s through the magazine. If our venture bears fruit, the effort that is put into a production by everyone involved will improve, and that will in turn raise the quality of the entertainment industry,” said Asia Digital Entertainment Chief Operating Officer Lalinka Muthukumarana.

Showtime also engages the interest of members of the film, music and television industries in the country. The articles in the publication are written with the objective of advancing Sri Lanka’s entertainment industry by examining entertainment content that is available locally as well as internationally.

Other than write-ups about movies, music and television programmes, the magazine also features reports on the talent behind the productions like actors, actresses, producers and directors. The brainchild of Manohan Nanayakkara, Asia Digital Entertainment is a pioneering movie production company that has actively endeavored to promote the use of digital technology in Sri Lanka’s film industry. Having already used the technology to produce the critically acclaimed Flying Fish, or Igillena Maluwo, and several other movies, the company hopes to use digital technology exclusively in the future.

Asia Digital Entertainment hopes to further support the development of the digital movie industry in Sri Lanka with its acquisition of a Red Camera, which can record remarkably high-resolution footage in digital format. The company works chiefly with young Sri Lankan filmmakers and tries to highlight these filmmakers’ perspective of contemporary society in Sri Lanka. Another one of Asia Digital Entertainment’s innovative goals is to establish a digital distribution system for movies in Sri Lanka, which will decrease distribution costs and make the movie industry more productive.