Sanjeewa Pushpakumara | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born | 5 May 1977 Trincomalee, Eastern Province, Sri Lanka |
| Alma mater | |
| Occupations |
|
Sanjeewa Pushpakumara (born 5 May 1977) is a Sri Lankan film director, screenwriter and producer.
Sanjeewa Pushpakumara | |
|---|---|
| | |
| Born | 5 May 1977 Trincomalee, Eastern Province, Sri Lanka |
| Alma mater | |
| Occupations |
|
Sanjeewa Pushpakumara (born 5 May 1977) is a Sri Lankan film director, screenwriter and producer.
Pushpakumara completed a Bachelor of Arts degree at the University of Sri Jayewardenepura in 2005. He pursued a diploma in filmmaking at the Sri Lanka National Film Corporation in 2006. [1] In 2007, Pushpakumara received a scholarship from the Korean Culture and Tourism Ministry under its Cultural Partnership Initiative (CPI), to study filmmaking in the Asian Young Film Forum and also to learn Korean at Jeonbuk National University. In 2008, he obtained a Master's degree in Mass Communications from the University of Kelaniya.
In 2009, Pushpakumara was selected to the Asian Film Academy of Busan International Film Festival. He participated in Berlinale Talent Campus in 2012. In 2014, he obtained an advanced degree (Master of Fine Arts) in filmmaking from the Chung-Ang University in South Korea as a Korean Government Scholarship Holder (KGSP). [2]
Pushpakumara's first feature film, Flying Fish (Sinhala: Igillena Maluwo), received post-production support from the Hubert Bals Fund of the International Film Festival Rotterdam (IFFR). Subsequently, Flying Fish world premiered at the IFFR and was nominated for the Festival's Tiger Award. The film reflects the deep social and psychological trauma of Sri Lanka's twenty-six-year-long civil war. [3] Flying Fish garnered many accolades and the film was invited to more than thirty international film festivals around the world. In a review for the 5th Cinema Digital Seoul Film Festival, film commentator Tony Rayns wrote that, in Pushpakumara, "Sri Lankan Cinema has found its true modernist" and he has also described Flying Fish as "scrupulously non-partisan, deeply humane, sexually candid, coolly modernist in style and almost indecently beautiful". [4]
In 2012, Pushpakumara was invited by the Cinéfondation of Cannes Film Festival to its Résidence programme in Paris to develop his second feature film, Burning Birds (Sinhala: Davena Vihagun). The film received production support from Doha Film Institute and post-production support from the Hubert Bals Fund and Aide aux cinémas du monde (CNC and Institut français). [5]
In 2014, the Biennale College of Venice Film Festival invited Pushpakumara to Venice to develop his third film project Peacock Lament. In 2019, Peacock Lament was also selected by the Nipkow Art Residence in Berlin for advance script development. In 2018, the film project Amma (Tamil: Mother) won Locarno Film Festival's Open Doors main prize. In 2019, the Amma project was also invited to Film Independent's Global Media Makers LA Residency in Los Angeles for advance script development.
Currently, Pushpakumara is the designer of the course and the Course Director at Sri Lanka Film School, the country's first film school.
International Film Festival Rotterdam (IFFR) is an annual film festival held at the end of January in various locations in Rotterdam, the Netherlands. Since its foundation in 1972, it has maintained a focus on independent and experimental filmmaking by showcasing emerging talents and established auteurs. The festival also places a focus on presenting cutting edge media art and arthouse film, with most of the participants in the short film program identified as artists or experimental filmmakers. IFFR also hosts CineMart and BoostNL, for film producers to seek funding. The IFFR logo is a stylized image of a tiger that is loosely based on Leo, the lion in the MGM logo.
Udaya Prasanna Vithanage is a Sri Lankan filmmaker. He is considered one of the pioneers of the third generation of the Sri Lankan cinema. He has directed eight feature films including Death on a Full Moon Day (1997), August Sun (2003), Flowers of the Sky (2008) & With You, Without You (2012) and won many prestigious national and international awards and have also been commercially successful in Sri Lanka. In his early theatre work, he translated and produced plays by international writers, adapted works of world literature to film. He has battled against the censorship in Sri Lanka and worked as an educator of cinema who has conducted many Master classes in the subcontinent for young filmmakers and enthusiasts.
The International Film Festival of Kerala is a film festival held annually in Thiruvananthapuram, the capital city of Kerala, India. This film festival started in 1996 and is hosted by the Kerala State Chalachitra Academy on behalf of Department of Cultural Affairs, Government of Kerala. The festival is held in November or December every year and is acknowledged as one of the leading cultural events in India.
The Network for the Promotion of Asian Cinema (NETPAC) is a worldwide organization of 29 member countries. It was created as the result of a conference on Asian cinema organized by Cinemaya, the Asian Film Quarterly, in New Delhi in 1990 at the instance and with the support of UNESCO, Paris.
Sankara is a 2007 Sinhalese language drama film directed by Prasanna Jayakody and co-produced by Renuka Balasooriya and Somaratne Dissanayake for Cine Films. It stars Thumindu Dodantenna and Sachini Ayendra in lead roles along with Nilupa Heenkendaarachchi and K.A Milton Perera. Music composed by Nadeeka Guruge.
How Is Your Fish Today?, also known as Jin Tian De Yu Zen Me Yang?, is a 2007 Chinese film written by Xiaolu Guo and Hui Rao. It was directed by Guo. The film is a drama set in modern China, focusing on the intertwined stories of two main characters; a frustrated writer and the subject of his latest work, Lin Hao. How Is Your Fish Today won 4 international awards and was well received by critics, but was not commercially successful.
Chinthana Dharmadasa is a Sri Lankan film director, film critic and a screenwriter who is also a Creative Director in the Sri Lankan advertising industry. Dharmadasa has worked for several periodicals as a writer and directed several short films, music videos, co-directed a feature film and is popularly known as an opinionated blogger and a critic.
Flying Fish is a 2011 anthology film directed by Sri Lankan filmmaker Sanjeewa Pushpakumara. It was produced with the financial support of the Hubert Bals Fund of the International Film Festival Rotterdam (IFFR). The film made its world premiere on 28 January 2011, as part of the Rotterdam festival's Tiger Awards Competition. The film has been noted for its political value, beautiful cinematography, long takes, and shocking violence.
Saroja, is a 2000 Sri Lankan Sinhalese children's drama film directed by Somaratne Dissanayake as maiden feature film and produced by his wife Renuka Balasuriya. It stars two child artists Pramudi Karunarathne and Nithyavani Kandasami in lead roles along with Janaka Kumbukage and Joe Abeywickrama. Music composed by Rohana Weerasinghe. It is the 931st film in Sri Lankan cinema. The film is a hugely successful film that has won awards and critical acclaim worldwide.
Lisa Takeba is a Japanese film director and screenwriter.
28 is a 2014 Sri Lankan feature drama film directed and produced by Prasanna Jayakody. The film starred by Mahendra Perera and Semini Iddamalgoda in lead roles along with Rukmal Nirosh, Sarath Kothalawala. 28 revolves how three men transport the body of a woman, who was raped and murdered, in an old van. One of the men will find out that the woman is his estranged wife. The film name is given considering that the average menstrual cycle of a woman is around 28 Days..
Majid Barzegar is an Iranian film director, producer, screenwriter, and photographer. He established his own film company Rainy pictures in 2005 with the aim of stimulating the independent film production in Iran.
Burning Birds is a 2018 Sri Lankan adult drama film written and directed by Sanjeewa Pushpakumara and co-produced by Pushpakumara and Antonin Dedet. It stars Anoma Janadari and Samanalee Fonseka with Mahendra Perera and Shyam Fernando. The music was composed by R. Abaji and Philip David Sheppard. The film was premiered in the main competition of the 21st Busan International Film Festival in 2016.
Nikini Vassa (August Drizzle) (Sinhala: නිකිණි වැස්ස) is a 2013 Sri Lankan Sinhala drama film directed by Aruna Jayawardana and produced by Dr Kusumsiri De Silva. It stars Chandani Seneviratne and Jagath Manuwarna in lead roles along with Thumindu Dodantenna and Bimal Jayakodi. Music composed by Nadeeka Guruge. It is the 1190th Sri Lankan film in the Sinhala cinema. The film had positive reviews from international and local critics and won many international awards as well.
Prasanna Jayakody is a Sri Lankan film director and screenwriter, internationally recognized for his cinematic accomplishments in contemporary Sri Lankan cinema. His movies primarily explore the human state of mind. They are fusions of human emotions, senses and thoughts set against the fractured socio-economic, cultural and religious environments of Sri Lanka. In the global context, Jayakody’s cinema represents the psycho-biological realities of mankind and arbitrariness of human cognition juxtaposed against the larger concept of civilization. Jayakody’s eccentric cinematic world, in the absence of a flowing story, capitalizes on subtle but detailed images and intense characters.
Kaushalya Fernando, is a Sri Lankan actress, director, producer and a civil activist. Highly versatile actress who dominated stage drama and cinema, Fernando is a five-time winner of the prestigious best actress award at the State Drama festival. She is the daughter of popular theatre director late Somalatha Subasinghe.
Rajee Samarasinghe is a Sri Lankan filmmaker and visual artist. His work explores a wide array of topics including the Sri Lankan Civil War, his family, and the deconstruction of documentary and narrative film.
The 19th Presidential Awards festival, presented by the Sri Lanka Film Corporation with the collaboration of the Presidential Secretariat and the Ministry of Parliamentary Reforms and Mass Media, was held on July 29, 1996, at the Nelum Pokuna Mahinda Rajapaksa Theatre, Colombo 07, Sri Lanka. His Excellency The President Maithripala Sirisena was the chief guest at the awards night.
Whispering Mountains also known as Rahas kiyana kandu is a 2023 Sri Lankan Sinhala-language drama film co-written and directed by Jagath Manuwarna. It is his feature film directorial debut. The film won the NETPAC Award for the best Asian feature film at the 52nd International Film Festival Rotterdam. The film premiered in the Bright Future programme of the 2023 International Film Festival Rotterdam.
Asu is a 2021 Sri Lankan Sinhala-language drama film produced, written and directed by Sanjeewa Pushpakumara. The film stars Udari Warnakulasooriya, Shyam Fernando and Dinara Punchihewa in the main lead roles. The film story was inspired based on the tragic death of Indira Jayasuriya who succumbed to the breast cancer in November 2016 at the age of 40. Indira Jayasuriya was the youngest daughter of former parliamentary speaker Karu Jayasuriya.