Akash Sunethkumara

Last updated
Akash Sunethkumara
Born
Akash Sunethkumara

(1994-01-19) 19 January 1994 (age 29)
Colombo, Sri Lanka
OccupationFilmmaker
Years active2015-present
Website https://www.highschooljunkies.com

Akash Sunethkumara (Akash Sk) is a Sri Lankan filmmaker, writer and actor. [1] He is known for the short films that he created with his production team called the High School Junkies.

Contents

Early life

Akash Sunethkumara was born in Colombo, Sri Lanka. He is an alumnus of St. Nicholas' International College Negombo and Staffordshire University. [2] [3]

Career

In 2016, Sunethkumara created his first publicly released short film EIDETIC which was his Masters thesis project. [4] [5] A low-budgeted short of $300, EIDETIC screened at various film festivals including San Diego Comic-Con's Independent Film Festival. [6] [7]

In 2018, he directed a short horror titled The Summoning. [8] [9]

In 2019, he released a mini-follow up to The Summoning titled The Friend which was also published on Crypt TV. [10]

In 2020, Sunethkumara directed The Knight Out, a project marketed as an "action musical" which merged the concepts of a music video with martial arts action. [11] [12]

In 2022, Sunethkumara helmed Temporal, a time-travel sci-fi short film about a physicist who races against time to prevent the death of his girlfriend. [13] The film required eight months of work to complete [14] and was experimental to determine how well they could "localize a western sci-fi concept". [15] It was the first project that Sunethkumara and the team had done in collaboration with an external party [16] and also the first project where they collaborated with veteran Sri Lankan actor Lakshman Mendis. [17] Sumner Forbes of Film Threat stated "I was mightily impressed by the production value that Sunethkumara brings to bear in this 30-minute film. The director never loses sight of the film’s strengths, which are the entertaining temporal contradictions that come from leaping back into the recent past, recalling Shane Carruth’s Primer ." [18]

Additionally, Sunethkumara started a webinar series during the COVID-19 pandemic called Junkyard Theory where he hosts filmmakers from Hollywood on a livestream. [19] The first education platform of its kind in Sri Lanka, it also offers short modular film courses. [20] [21] Sunethkumara has hosted prominent names in the industry such as Paul Hirsch, Donald Sylvester, Richard Norton, Fabian Wagner and Simon Barry. [3] [22]

Filmography

YearTitleNotes
2016 EIDETIC First Sri Lankan short film accepted in San Diego Comic-Con's Independent Film Festival
2018 The Summoning
2019The FriendPublished on Crypt TV
2020The Knight Out
2022 Temporal

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gunadasa Kapuge</span> Sri Lankan musician (1945–2003)

Ellamulla Kapuge Gunadasa popularly known as Gunadasa Kapuge, was a Sri Lankan singer, musician, music director and playback singer. He was well known among Sri Lankans due to the philosophical background of his music renditions and lyrics selected for his work.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cinema of Sri Lanka</span> Filmmaking industry in Sri Lanka

Sri Lankan cinema encompasses the Sri Lankan film industry. It is a fledgling industry that has struggled to find a footing since its inauguration in 1947 with Kadawunu Poronduwa produced by S. M. Nayagam of Chitra Kala Movietone. Sri Lankan films are usually made in Sinhala and Tamil languages, the dominant languages of the country. Cinema of Sri Lanka is also referred to as Follywood as many famous Sri Lankan actors had surnames starting with an "F."

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Minister of Finance (Sri Lanka)</span> Cabinet post in Sri Lanka

The Minister of Finance is an appointment in the Cabinet of Sri Lanka. The post was created in 1947 when Ceylon gained independence as Sri Lanka.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sirimal Wijesinghe</span> Sri Lankan journalist, author, filmmaker, critic and activist

Sirimal Wijesinghe is a Sri Lankan author, political analyst, film director, journalist, alternative intellectual, and leader of the Poor People's Party in Sri Lanka. critic and activist. He is the founding editor of the controversial Sinhala youth magazine, Paradisaya. He is one of the pioneers of the new wave of Colombo-based young political and cultural analysts who emerged in the decade of 1980, particularly after the advent of the open economic system. Wijesinghe's contribution in various fields, ranging from politics to arts, has been considered experimental as well as path-breaking.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mirissa</span> Place in Southern Province, Sri Lanka

Mirissa is a small town on the south coast of Sri Lanka, located in the Matara District of the Southern Province. It is approximately 150 kilometres (93 mi) south of Colombo and is situated at an elevation of 4 metres (13 ft) above sea level. Mirissa's beach and nightlife make it a popular tourist destination. It is also a fishing port and one of the island's main whale and dolphin watching locations.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Michael Mongillo</span> American film director

Michael Mongillo is an American feature film director, screenwriter, and producer. He is best known for the 2007 mockumentary Being Michael Madsen, the 2017 supernatural mystery Diane, and the 2021 sci-fi thriller The Changed.

<i>The Summoning</i> (film) 2018 film

The Summoning is a Sri Lankan horror short film written and directed by Akash Sunethkumara. It premiered on the 26 October 2018 and was released on YouTube and Vimeo the same Halloween.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Yudhanjaya Wijeratne</span> Sri Lankan science fiction author, activist and researcher

Rajapakse Konara Mudiyanselage Bilesha Yudhanjaya Bandara Wijeratne is a Sri Lankan science fiction author, activist and researcher, classified as part of a new wave of South Asian science fiction writers. His work has appeared in Wired, Foreign Policy and Slate. His novel The Salvage Crew has been lauded as one of the best science fiction and fantasy books of 2020.

<i>Eidetic</i> (film) 2016 Sri Lankan film

Eidetic is a 2016 Sri Lankan action/thriller short film written, produced and directed by Akash Sunethkumara. It was created as part of the director's MA thesis and is known for being the first Sri Lankan short film to be screened at the San Diego Comic-Con's International Independent Film Festival, in 2017.

Shyam Fernando, is an actor in Sri Lankan cinema, stage drama, and television. He is a dubbing artist and was nominated for several dramatic roles.

Ashan Dias is an actor in Sri Lankan cinema. Started as a newscaster in MBC Networks, Dias turned to be a character actor with several critically acclaimed roles in films such as Alimankada, Sarigama and Vijayaba Kollaya.

Mellony Wijesinghe was a Sri Lankan netball player who played in the position of goal shooter in international netball tournaments. She died on 20 October 2019 from suspected leukaemia. She was treated by Dr Eliyantha White in July 2019 for a shoulder injury after which she developed loss of red blood cells, however tests conducted in India and South Africa have not revealed any trace of leukaemia.

This page lists notable events that took place during the year 2020 in Sri Lanka.

Akash Sherman is a Canadian film director.

Elliott Simon Hasler is an English film director and screenwriter. Hasler is best known for the biopic Vindication Swim, which centres around the story of Mercedes Gleitze and her attempt to become the first British woman to swim the English Channel.

Kuruppu Appuhamillage Leelaratne Wijesinghe was a Sri Lankan politician. He was a member of Parliament of Sri Lanka from Polonnaruwa representing the Sri Lanka Freedom Party.

Mutukuda Arachchige Jayasinghe Wijesinghe, was a Sri Lankan politician. He was a member of Parliament of Sri Lanka from Wariyapola representing the Sri Lanka Freedom Party.

Umut Aral is a Turkish film director, producer, and screenwriter best known for the Netflix Original The Protector., Love 101 and his feature debut on esports 'Good Game: The Beginning'.

<i>Temporal</i> (film) 2022 Sri Lankan film

Temporal is a 2022 Sri Lankan science fiction short film directed by Akash Sunethkumara. The film stars Vimukthi Kiriella, Ishanka Abeysekara, Krishantha Mendis with a cameo appearance by Lakshman Mendis.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Coconut Tree Hill</span> Lateritic headland in Mirissa, Sri Lanka

Coconut Tree Hill is a lateritic headland in Mirissa, Sri Lanka located adjacent to the Indian Ocean. It is a popular tourist destination in the country and is located at a headland with a coconut plantation. Coconut Tree Hill, despite being located on privately owned lands, is one of the most Instagrammed locations in Sri Lanka. In 1881, Ernst Haeckel portrayed Mirissa "red cliffs" in the sunset in his book, A visit to Ceylon and described "they seem to burn like coal...". The hill has been recommended as a place to observe the sunrise for the tourists. The hill is located on the Mirissa beach which is contiguous to Weligama across the Weligama bay. Mirissa beach has been described as one of the "secret beaches" in the world.

References

  1. ↑ "Akash Sk". High School Junkies. Retrieved 2019-07-22.
  2. ↑ "This time it's horror: High School Junkies strike again". The Sunday Times Sri Lanka. Retrieved 2019-07-22.
  3. 1 2 "Meet the movie wizards". Print Edition - The Sunday Times, Sri Lanka. Retrieved 2021-07-17.
  4. ↑ Degree, Raindance Postgraduate (2017-06-01). ""Eiditic" to Screen at San Diego Comic Con". Raindance. Retrieved 2019-07-26.
  5. ↑ "Eidetic". calendar.raindancefestival.org. Archived from the original on 2019-07-12. Retrieved 2019-07-22.
  6. ↑ ""EIDETIC" drags the world attention to Sri Lanka". 2017-09-17. Retrieved 2021-04-11– via PressReader.
  7. ↑ "Sri Lanka's Top Short Films of 2016". YAMU. Retrieved 2019-07-22.
  8. ↑ Charles, Baptiste (2019-07-11). "Raindance MA Alumni Akash Sk shoots horror short "The Summoning"". Raindance. Retrieved 2019-07-22.
  9. ↑ "The Summoning – a testament to clever filmmaking". The Morning - Sri Lanka News. 2018-11-04. Retrieved 2019-07-22.
  10. ↑ "The High School Junkies Have A Short Film Out". Decibel. 2019-05-24. Retrieved 2019-07-22.
  11. ↑ Wijesinghe, Dimithri. "The Knight Out | ද නයිට් අවුට් | an action musical by Akash Sunethkumara". The Morning.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  12. ↑ Clarke, Lucy (2020-09-07). "The Knight Out Short Film Review". UK Film Review. Retrieved 2021-04-11.
  13. ↑ Wijesinghe, Dimithri (2022-03-08). "Temporal: Proof that Sri Lankan cinema can do better". Brunch. Retrieved 2022-03-28.
  14. ↑ "Shooting a paradox on time". Print Edition - The Sunday Times, Sri Lanka. Retrieved 2022-03-28.
  15. ↑ "Temporal Disruption". CeylonToday. Retrieved 2022-04-13.
  16. ↑ "High School Junkies takes on Sci-Fi". The Morning - Sri Lanka News. 2021-10-12. Retrieved 2022-03-28.
  17. ↑ ""WE THINK WE HAVE TIME" A PHYSICIST RISKS EVERYTHING TO RIGHT A WRONG IN SCI-FI SHORT'TEMPORAL' - Life | Daily Mirror". www.dailymirror.lk. Retrieved 2022-03-29.
  18. ↑ "Temporal | Film Threat". 2022-04-19. Retrieved 2022-04-23.
  19. ↑ "How One Sri Lankan Filmmaker Got Tips from Hollywood Masters". No Film School. 2021-04-09. Retrieved 2021-04-11.
  20. ↑ "The Art Of Filmmaking: How Junkyard Theory is uncovering the best tricks and tips of filmmaking - Life Online". www.life.lk. Retrieved 2021-09-17.
  21. ↑ "What is the Junkyard Theory?". The Morning - Sri Lanka News. 2021-01-10. Retrieved 2021-04-11.
  22. ↑ "A year of Junkyard Theory: Akash Sunethkumara". The Morning - Sri Lanka News. 2021-06-06. Retrieved 2021-07-17.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.