Post-Cannes must-watch list?

Richard Ingham

What films will we be watching in the near future, and how will we be watching them? Here's a snapshot of trends that emerged in the 2013 Cannes Film Festival, a weather-vane of the movie industry:

TV, NOT CINEMA

Hollywood's grip on big movies is being broken by TV, to which big-time directors, actors and money are migrating.

Dark, offbeat critical and commercial successes like The Wire, Mad Men, The Sopranos and Game of Thrones show what happens when bold programming and video-on-demand (VOD) come together.

At Cannes, there was no greater symbol of the change than Behind the Candelabra, a biopic that has Michael Douglas as the flouncing entertainer Liberace.

Too gay for Hollywood , the movie was financed by HBO - which means it cannot even be considered for an Oscar if it premieres to the public on television. “TV is really taking control of a conversation that used to be the exclusive domain of movies,” said director Steven Soderbergh. “I think it's a second golden age of TV that's happening in the States now.” Richard LaGravenese said creative types found TV refreshingly experimental compared to Hollywood studio films.

“TV is where a writer can write his novel. You can have episodes that are purely character-driven that are just about nuance and about shades of the human condition that you can't do in film any more.”

GREY IS GOLD

Expect more and more films that cater to ageing Baby Boomers, the biggest and wealthiest population bulge in history. Robert Redford made a screen comeback with All is Lost about a retired-but-virile yachtsman caught in a storm.

Senior-friendly projects that were announced or touted at Cannes include Life Itself a marriage comedy starring Morgan Freeman, 75, and Diane Keaton, 67; And So It Goes with Douglas, 68, who is introduced to the granddaughter he never knew he had; and Look of Love where Annette Bening, 55, falls for a man (Ed Harris, 62), who happens to look like her dead husband.

LOOKING TO ASIA

Asian markets and money, as well as Asian content, are exerting a widening influence. China is at the forefront. “China is coming on strong not just as a market place for international motion pictures, but coming on strong as a creative force,” Hollywood legend Steven Spielberg said.

Big-budget US-Chinese co-productions such as Kung Fu Panda 3 are sometimes shot with a Chinese location and storyline.

In the case of Iron Man 3, producers included two Chinese characters for a version released only in China: a character named Dr. Wu, played by Wang Xueqi, and a woman close to him, performed by actress Fan Bingbing.

Some co-productions are being voluntarily submitted to Beijing's censors in the early stage of the creative process to avoid rejection further down the line, according to the industry press.

Asian-made movies can make it big in Europe and the United States provided they move out of a narrow cultural range and address universal themes, say some.

DOCUMENTARIES

They are the biggest growth area of films, driven by interests in content ranging from social and environment issues to history, sports and music.

“People today want more than escapism,” said Martijn te Pas, in charge of programming at Amsterdam's International Documentary Film Festival.

Driving the trend are cheap digital technology for content makers, niche markets for non-fiction programming ranging and the Internet as a form of distribution.

PIRACY

Do you illegally download movies? In the near future, you could run a bigger risk of being pursued by the dogs of law.

Lacking a technical fix against piracy, studios are turning more and more to cyber-detectives to sniff out the Internet addresses of illegal downloaders.

Lawyers then subpoena the Internet Service Provider (ISP) to identify the abuser. The attorneys send a threatening letter, usually with a settlement offer.

In the biggest case, Voltage Pictures, which produced The Hurt Locker attacked 25,000 people deemed to have illegally downloaded the hit movie from BitTorrent and peer-to-peer networks. The settlement offer was usually between $1,000 and $2,000; many cases, though, have been thrown out or contested.

AFP

Standing by the 35 copies limitation

The Deshiya Cinema Shilpeenge Sandanaya will stand by the law which has been enforced by the National Film Corporation and approved by the courts to limit screening of a film to 35 copies.

The limitation was enforced as a short term solution to the lack of functioning cinema halls in the country.

Therefore they condemn one particular producer's act in challenging this law and screening 55 copies of his production and theaters.

The National Film Corporation set the law of limiting the copies of local productions to 35 from January 1, 2013, and upgraded all those who are involved in the industry through the media in June 2012. Malani Fonseka, Presidential Adviser to Cinema Ravindra Randeniya, Cinema Director's Guild and Deshiya Cinema Shilpeenge Sandanaya have backed this decision.

He couldn’t refuse: like father, like son!

Ruwini Jayawardana

History and folktales are brought to the forefront in Somaratne Dissanayake's latest cinematic venture ‘Siri Perakum’ which is screening at EAP circuit cinemas these days.

The movie brings many new faces onto the wide screen. Akila Dhanuddara, the eldest son of renowned actor Jackson Antony and Senali Fonseka who is Malani Fonseka's youngest niece will be making their debut in ‘Siri Perakum'.

“I have been repeatedly invited to act in productions but have always tried to avoid the limelight. Finally when Dissnayake approached me I could not say no. I found the project interesting,” Akila noted on what lured him to act in ‘Siri Perakum'.

He says that he did not find it a challenge to act any of the episodes because the director was there to guide him. Dissanayake's expertise helped him prefect the role.

“However there was this scene in which they had to build a bee hive around one of my legs. This was a scene in which I have fallen asleep and have a nightmare. The bees actually began building a bee hive on my leg after they placed the queen bee there. That was a terrifying experience,” he said.

Queried if he thinks that there will be comparisons between his character and the one played by his younger brother, Sajitha Anuttara in ‘Aba’, Akila was quick to share his views. He says that Sajitha portrays the actual life story of King Pandukabhaya while he was given a free rein in playing the role of King Parakkramabahu.

“There was more freedom for me to bring more of myself into the character since we did not stick to historic details. The film clearly states that this is not a work of history alone though minute details like King Parakkramabahu II being the author of ‘Kaw Sulima’ has been included in it. Therefore though both of us play legendary characters from Sri Lankan history Sajitha actually did a historic movie while I gave life to a partly fictional character,” he expressed.

He notes that he is willing to take on more roles in the future if they appeal to him. However he does not choose acting as his career.

“It is difficult for artistes to survive in this field in Sri Lanka. You need to have a more profitable career on the side to earn a living while engaging in the arts because of your passion,” he said. Senali who plays the character of Sirimal Ethana in the film added that she had always wanted to start her career with one of Dissanayake's movies.

“I wanted to take part in his last production but he had already chosen the actors for that by that time I showed interest. It was mainly a children's movie. ‘Siri Perakum’ features youth. I have been keeping tabs on Dissanayake's productions though I have been living abroad. That is how I got to know about ‘Siri Perakum’,” she said.

Senali has been living in England for the past few years engaging in further studies. She had completed studies at Chesterton Community College and Long Road Sixth Form College in Cambridge and is waiting to begin her year at university pursuing Biomedicine.

This is not the first time that she has appeared in front of a camera. She has been compeering and taking part in children's television programmes like ‘Punchi Panchi’, ‘T2 Team’ and ‘Bale Da Bidu’ (Young Sweat) from childhood. She has also acted in ‘Hansa Dadayama’ (Swan Hunt), a story which relates the plight of a girl with a rare disease.

Speaking about her character Senali said that she felt that she could relate to Sirimal Ethana.

“She is innocent and bashful. She opens her heart to the orphan boy out of kindness and ends up falling in love with him. We had to play our roles so that the audience sees how the relationship gradually develops between the two characters. I had no dialogues in most of my scenes but had to express my feelings with facial expressions. That was tough! I merely had to smile and act shy in my first scene in front of the camera,” Senali recalled.

“Dissanayke was at first doubtful whether I would suit the character as he has only seen a picture of me. He wondered whether a girl who had been living in UK from 10 years onwards will be able to play the role of a village lass. However after our meeting he was all smiles. I am so happy I got my break through this movie,” she enthused.

Now showing:

Fast and Furious 6

In this sixth instalment of the high-octane action franchise. Dominic Toretto (Vin Diesel), Brian O’Conner (Paul Walker) and their gang - comprising fast-talking Roman Pearce (Tyrese Gibson), technical wizard Tej (Chris ‘Ludacris’ Bridges), drift racer Han (Sung Kang) and his speed freak girlfriend Gisele (Gal Gadot) - are fugitives from the law after stealing 100 million dollars from a drug lord.

Tenacious federal agent Luke Hobbs (Dwayne Johnson) and rookie sidekick Elena (Elsa Pataky) track down Dominic and Brian and offer the racers an opportunity to expunge their criminal records in exchange for bringing down British criminal mastermind Owen Shaw (Luke Evans) and his goons. Complicating matters, Owen’s right-hand woman is Dominic’s old flame, Letty (Michelle Rodriguez). Engines roar and rubber burns as Dom, Brian and co head to London to put a handbrake on Shaw’s plans.

Fast and Furious 6 is screening at Majestic Cineplex's Ultra cinema and Arena, Katugastota.

OCIC 2013 applications closing date extended

The closing date for applications for the OCIC Awards 2013 has been extended till June 30. Those who are looking to take part in the short film competition can make a production on any topic to represent the motion picture and animation categories. The short films should run for 10 to 15 minutes.

Those who hope to take part in the Javilal Vilegoda Memorial critical essay competition should base their topic on ‘Sinhala Cinema beyond 66 years'. They need to limit their word count to less than 2500 words.

The short films should be sent in DVD format. Hand over the essays and DVDs to Signis Sri Lanka Organization, No 19, Balcombe Place, Colombo 08, between 8.30 am to 4.30 pm.

For more details call 0112693425/ 0718954214/ 0770212043